Wall Street's main indexes advanced on Thursday, as rising chipmakers helped outweigh geopolitical anxiety over renewed attacks that could prolong the U.S.-Iran conflict, while Meta Platforms fell after Reuters reported its AI chip production plans.
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it launched new strikes on Iran to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. Iran responded with attacks on U.S. assets in Kuwait and Bahrain, deepening a confrontation amid fragile ceasefire efforts.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 5% in early trading to be on track for a second straight positive session.
Applied Materials jumped 9.4% and led gains among chip stocks on the benchmark S&P 500. The information technology index jumped 1.5%.
Micron Technology gained 9% after laying out plans to invest more than $250 billion in the United States through 2035 to benefit from surging demand for memory chips in the AI era.
Conversely, Meta Platforms fell 1% after Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported that the company plans to make an artificial intelligence chip from September. The loss weighed heavily on the communications services index, capping gains on S&P 500.
The sentiment towards AI-linked stocks has been volatile in recent sessions amid concerns about the sustainability of a rally that has helped drive Wall Street to record levels in 2026, despite Middle East tensions simmering in the background.
"We've had a very strong first half in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, primarily driven by memory-storage providers," said Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at iFOREX.
"There are concerns about their ability to continue generating the record levels of revenues and profits they're currently producing and when you throw in a breakdown of the ceasefire in the Middle East, you've got a toxic combination."
IBM and Microsoft fell 2.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Bloomberg reported Starbucks had tapped AI to reduce its reliance on both companies.
At 10:06 a.m., ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 87.73 points, or 0.17%, to 52,436.12, the S&P 500 gained 30.23 points, or 0.40%, to 7,512.94 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 160.02 points, or 0.62%, to 26,030.68.
On the data front, the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting the labor market remained stable despite a slowdown in job growth in June.
Under new Chair Kevin Warsh, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its June meeting, but minutes released on Wednesday showed a few policymakers saw a case for raising borrowing costs before ultimately agreeing to hold steady.
Traders are pricing in at least one 25-basis-point rate hike by the end of the year, according to LSEG data.
Among others, PepsiCo fell 4.7% despite the snacks and soda giant beating second-quarter revenue estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.71-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
There were 28 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows on the NYSE. The S&P 500 as well as the Nasdaq Composite posted no new highs and lows.
