If you glanced at your brokerage app yesterday, you probably saw a lot of red. It wasn't pretty. But honestly, today—Thursday, January 15, 2026—the vibe is totally different. We're seeing a classic "bounce back" session where the big indexes are finally snapping a two-day losing streak.
Basically, the market was waiting for a reason to feel good again, and it found one in the semiconductor sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up about 0.6% (nearly 300 points), sitting around 49,442. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are also tagging along, both gaining roughly 0.3%. It’s not a moonshot, but after the tech slump we just lived through earlier this week, it’s a breath of fresh air.
The TSMC Effect: Why Your Tech Stocks Are Breathing Again
The biggest story today is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM). They dropped their fourth-quarter earnings early this morning, and the numbers were, frankly, huge. We’re talking about a 35% jump in net earnings year-over-year.
More importantly for anyone wondering what are stocks doing today, TSMC basically told the world that the AI bubble hasn't popped. They're planning to ramp up spending on equipment by at least 25% this year. That one comment sent shockwaves through the entire chip sector.
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Look at the ripple effect:
- Applied Materials (AMAT) and KLA Corp. (KLAC) are soaring 7% and 8% respectively.
- Nvidia (NVDA) is up about 2.1%, recovering from yesterday’s dip when the Trump administration announced new security rules for shipping those H200 AI chips to China.
- AMD and Broadcom (AVGO) are also seeing green.
It’s kind of wild how one company in Taiwan can dictate the mood of the entire New York Stock Exchange, but when you make the chips for everything from iPhones to ChatGPT, you have that kind of power.
Banks and Geopolitics: A Weird Mix
While the tech geeks are celebrating, the big banks are having a "mixed bag" kind of day. BlackRock (BLK) is the star here, up nearly 6% after hitting a massive milestone: $14 trillion in assets under management. They even hiked their dividend by 10%.
On the flip side, we’re still seeing some hangover from the start of the week. Remember when President Trump suggested capping credit card interest rates at 10%? That’s still weighing on the big lenders. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) have had a rough few days, though they're trying to stabilize this afternoon.
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Then there’s the "Trump Trade" regarding Iran. Oil prices actually sank today because the administration dialed back the rhetoric on a potential military strike. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is hovering around $60 a barrel. When the threat of war drops, oil usually drops with it, which is great for your gas tank but less fun if you’re heavy into energy stocks.
What’s Dragging the Market Down?
It’s not all sunshine. The healthcare sector is taking a bit of a beating today. Eli Lilly (LLY) and Boston Scientific (BSX) are leading the losers, with Lilly down nearly 5%. It seems like some investors are rotating out of healthcare—which did okay during the recent volatility—and moving that cash back into the "riskier" tech plays now that TSMC gave the green light.
Software is also struggling. If you own Intuit (INTU) or ServiceNow (NOW), you've probably noticed they've been trending down for most of January. Intuit is actually down 15% since the year started. It’s a stark reminder that even when the "market" is up, your individual "slice" might not be.
The "Real World" View: Inflation and the Fed
We can't talk about stocks without mentioning the boring stuff: inflation. The latest CPI (Consumer Price Index) data came in at 2.7%. That’s exactly what economists expected. It’s "sticky," meaning it's not going down as fast as the Fed wants, but it's not exploding either.
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Right now, the consensus is that the Federal Reserve might only give us one or two rate cuts in 2026. This is a big shift from a few months ago when everyone was hoping for a fire sale on interest rates.
Lori Calvasina from RBC Capital Markets made a great point today. She thinks the S&P 500 could hit 7,750 in the next year. But here's the catch—she doesn't think it'll happen because of "hype." It’ll happen because of actual earnings. In other words, companies actually have to make money to keep these prices up. No more "vibes only" investing.
Actionable Steps for Today's Market
So, what do you actually do with this information? Watching the tickers is fun, but it doesn't pay the bills unless you have a plan.
- Check your AI exposure. If you’re 90% in semiconductors, today feels great. But the volatility in Nvidia this week shows how sensitive these stocks are to political headlines (like the China export rules). It might be time to see if you're too concentrated.
- Watch the $4,600 gold mark. Gold futures hit a record recently but slipped a bit today to $4,610. If you’re looking for a "safe haven" because you're worried about the Iran situation or the 10% credit card cap, gold is still the main hedge everyone is piling into.
- Don't ignore the dividend hikers. In an environment where the Fed is being stingy with rate cuts, companies like BlackRock that are raising dividends become much more attractive. "Cash in hand" is becoming a popular theme again.
- Re-evaluate your healthcare holdings. If you're in Eli Lilly for the long haul, a 5% dip might just be noise. But if you're swing trading, the sector rotation we saw today suggests that money is flowing elsewhere for the moment.
The big takeaway? The "AI is dead" narrative was premature. As long as the companies building the hardware are reporting record profits, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is going to keep fighting back. Just keep an eye on those geopolitical headlines—they're moving the needle more than the actual balance sheets lately.