NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, snapping a two-day losing streak as a surge in semiconductor and financial shares bolstered investor confidence.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent to 49,442.44. The S&P 500 added 0.26 percent to 6,944.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 0.25 percent to 23,530.02.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended higher, with utilities and industrials leading the gainers by going up 1.04 percent and 0.93 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and health led the laggards by losing 0.91 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively.
The rally was primarily spearheaded by the technology sector following a record-breaking quarterly report from TSMC, which announced plans to increase its 2026 capital expenditure to between 52 billion and 56 billion U.S. dollars, a move seen as a strong vote of confidence in the sustained global demand for AI infrastructure.
TSMC shares climbed 4.44 percent. The optimism spread across the semiconductor industry with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF rising 2.08 percent, while industry leaders Nvidia and Micron Technology gained 2.13 percent and 0.98 percent, respectively.
The financial sector also provided significant upward momentum as investors processed the latest wave of fourth-quarter earnings. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both reported surging profits, driven by a year-end resurgence in global dealmaking.
Meanwhile, asset management giant BlackRock saw its shares jump 5.93 percent after ending 2025 with a record 14 trillion dollars in assets under management and exceeding quarterly earnings estimates.
On the economic front, data from the U.S. Department of Labor indicated continued resilience in the U.S. job market. Initial requests for unemployment benefits for the week ending Jan. 10 fell to 198,000, significantly lower than the 215,000 claims projected by economists.
Further supporting the market was a notable decline in energy costs. Global oil prices retreated, with both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures sliding more than 4 percent during the session.
