Markets · Midday Edition
Stocks Rebound as Oil Falls; Chip Shares Extend Their Post-Fed Gains
The broad market recovered Thursday morning as oil retreated and Treasury prices rose. Semiconductors led, but the day’s strongest portfolio moves still did not share one explanation.
U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday morning as falling oil prices and less pressure from the bond market gave investors room to look past Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate increase. At 10:25 a.m. Eastern, SPY was up 1.04%, QQQ had gained 1.62%, and the semiconductor ETF SMH was 2.71% higher. The oil fund USO fell 1.38%, while the Treasury ETF IEF rose 0.48%.
The reversal followed a difficult Fed day for the broad market. On Wednesday, the central bank raised its target range by a quarter point to 3.75%–4.00%, saying inflation remained elevated even as economic activity, domestic spending and capital investment stayed firm. Thursday’s rally did not undo that decision. It changed the market inputs surrounding it: oil moved lower, Treasury prices rose, and the volatility note VXX fell 3.88%.
A broad chip rally, not one company’s story
Semiconductor shares advanced across several parts of the supply chain. Intel rose 8.00%, Arm gained 6.65%, Micron added 5.49%, Sandisk rose 4.91%, AMD gained 4.35%, and Nvidia was up 2.65%. Intel was extending Wednesday’s move after reports that SK hynix was discussing possible U.S. memory-chip manufacturing arrangements involving Intel’s Ohio site. The talks remained reported discussions, not an announced agreement.
The rest of the group did not need that company-specific explanation to rise. A lower oil price and firmer Treasury market reduce two pressures that had weighed on long-duration growth assets earlier in the week. That macro change is consistent with a broad chip rebound; it is not proof that every company’s earnings outlook improved Thursday morning.
The portfolio’s largest move had no dated catalyst
Tempus AI was the strongest AEA holding at the snapshot, up 14.19%. I found no company release or SEC filing dated Thursday that explained the move. The correct treatment is therefore descriptive: the stock rose sharply; the cause was not established.
Other positions showed why a single “risk-on” label is incomplete. CoreWeave fell 5.19% even as most AI-linked holdings rose. Meta slipped 0.09%, and Estée Lauder fell 0.52%. CrowdStrike, Datadog and Palo Alto Networks gained, but by different amounts. The market was rewarding the theme broadly while continuing to distinguish among financing structures, business models and recent company-specific news.
At the snapshot, AEA’s 32-position book was worth approximately $33,858, up 2.30% from the September 16 marks. That is an intraday estimate, not a closing return. WhiteFiber’s line uses the latest verified September 16 close because a reliable live quote was not available in the same feed; SpaceX remains a private-company mark and is not treated as a daily exchange move.
What is known—and what is not
Known: The Fed raised its target range to 3.75%–4.00%; oil was lower Thursday morning; Treasury prices and major stock indexes were higher; semiconductor shares advanced broadly.
Not established: A company-specific cause for Tempus AI’s move, a signed Intel–SK hynix agreement, Thursday’s closing prices, or whether the rebound will survive the session.