US close: Stocks bounce back as mega chip deals lift mood

(Sharecast News) - US stocks partially rebounded on Tuesday after a tariff-fuelled sell-off the previous session, with massive deals in the chip sector helping to repair sentiment despite ongoing concerns about overspending on AI.

The Dow gained 0.8%, with just four of its 30 constituents in the red by the close, slightly recovering after a 1.7% slump on Monday. The S&P 500, which shed 1.0% the previous day, also finished 0.8% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.0% after a 1.1% fall.

Markets started off the week with heavy falls after Donald Trump raised his global tariff rates following the Supreme Court ruling that he had exceeded his powers when instituting his so-called "reciprocal" tariffs last year.

Trump's new tariffs came into effect at the lower rate of 10% following backlash from the EU and the UK. According to reports, however, the US president is currently working on a formal order that will increase the rate to 15%.

Investors were awaiting Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, eyeing clues about future US trade policy.

In other news, the Conference Board's US consumer confidence index ticked up to 91.2 from an upwardly-revised 89.0 in January. The previous month's figure was revised up from 84.5. Economists had expected a reading of 87.0 for this month.

Chip deals provide a boost

Intel jumped 6% after announcing that it is taking part in a $350m investment round in SambaNova as part of a multi-year collaboration that will see the AI chip startup compete with industry leader Nvidia. To quickly scale SambaNova's new SN50 AI chip, which it said runs at a max speed five times faster than competitive chips, it is partnering with Intel to adopt the latter's server chips and graphics cards.

Meta Platforms is to buy up to $60bn of AI chips from Advanced Micro Devices in a five-year deal that could see the social network giant take a 10% stake in the semiconductor company. Shares in AMD jumped 9% after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said: "I expect AMD to be an important partner for many years to come."

Warner Bros Discovery edged higher after Paramount Skydance sweetened its bid for the company as it looks to derail an agreed takeover by Netflix, but did not disclose any details.

Home Depot reassured investors after reiterating full-year guidance as after-quarter trading at the US DIY chain came in ahead of expectations. The Atlanta-based retailer posted an unexpected 0.4% increase in comparable sales, while analysts had expected no change.

US-listed shares of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk fell on the news that it is to halve the US price of obesity drug Wegovy and slash the price of diabetes treatment Ozempic from next year as competition ramps up with rival drugmaker Eli Lilly, which fell on Tuesday.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.12 5.71%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $185.43 4.07%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $230.69 2.67%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.80 2.48%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $272.14 2.24%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $388.07 1.99%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.95 1.59%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $106.37 1.57%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $768.95 1.55%

Boeing Co. (BA) $233.43 1.28%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $274.14 -2.97%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $332.63 -0.45%

American Express Co. (AXP) $320.70 -0.24%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $297.71 -0.12%

S&P 500 - Risers

Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS) $302.49 23.05%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $213.84 8.77%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $47.02 6.74%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.12 5.71%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $191.17 5.27%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $188.57 5.24%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,068.56 5.11%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $198.12 5.10%

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $112.59 5.06%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $440.72 4.73%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $73.71 -13.87%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $68.42 -7.06%

ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $81.91 -5.08%

CVS Health Corp (CVS) $74.86 -3.66%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $174.86 -3.60%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $270.57 -3.51%

Resmed Inc. (RMD) $250.88 -3.51%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $274.14 -2.97%

Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $20.98 -2.96%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $213.35 -2.96%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $47.02 6.74%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.12 5.71%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $191.17 5.27%

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $4,068.56 5.11%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $198.12 5.10%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $440.72 4.73%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $13.14 4.70%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $204.19 4.40%

Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $649.23 4.19%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $290.62 3.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $3.21 -20.94%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $270.57 -3.51%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $213.35 -2.96%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $396.02 -2.79%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $772.19 -1.89%

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $152.44 -1.48%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $325.49 -1.47%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $147.64 -1.46%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $94.33 -1.07%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $75.91 -0.90%