Charley Grant

A big month for the chip industry’s leading supplier is pushing semi stocks higher. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. are up some 4% in New York Friday morning, after the company said April revenue rose nearly 60% from a year ago.

Another week, another surge for semiconductor stocks. The PHLX Semiconductor Index has this week gained nearly 5%, reflecting ongoing investor enthusiasm for AI-related businesses. The sector has been so hot that a 5% weekly gain is almost a routine phenomenon.

Old-school stocks in the utilities, energy and materials sectors are outpacing the wider market.

Monday’s winning stocks include a familiar face. Nvidia shares were recently up nearly 3%, continuing a trend of unrelenting AI optimism. Underpinning the latest rally: analysts at Bank of America lifted their price target on the chipmaker to $1500 per share.

Business has been improving lately for Cruise operators. And on Tuesday, Wall Street started to take notice. Carnival stock is up more than 3% in recent trading. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean shares are also on the climb.

Stock-split mania is powering chip stocks higher once again. Broadcom was up 13% shortly after Thursday’s opening bell, after the chipmaker on Wednesday announced plans to execute a 10-for-1 stock split.

Cruise ship stocks are falling after concerns emerged that the industry’s pricing power is weakening. “Based on cruise prices pulled in early June, there was modestly softer pricing in ocean markets relative to early May,” Bank of America analysts said Friday in a research note to clients.

Nvidia’s dramatic rise from a relatively obscure chipmaker to the largest company in the United States is powering the entire U.S. stock market. + Wall Street’s AI darling rose another 3.5% Tuesday and has nearly tripled in 2024. As a result, the S&P 500, which is weighted by company market value, is up nearly 16% over that same period.

In this year's bull market, there are artificial-intelligence plays like Nvidia—and then there's everything else.

Charley Grant is a banking reporter at The Wall Street Journal based in New York. Previously, he was a Heard on the Street columnist. He is a CFA charter holder.