AI chips reverse and lead Nasdaq gains, SanDisk (SNDK.US) surges 7% sparks tech rebound

According to Woofun AI, the Nasdaq 100 Index established its leading position driven by a strong reversal in the AI chip sector, with the surge of core targets such as SanDisk (SNDK.US) becoming the key anchor point for market sentiment recovery that day.

During Monday’s midday trading, the U.S. stock market displayed marked divergence as macro data volatility intersected with policy expectations. The Nasdaq 100 Index soared by 1.7%, followed by the S&P 500 Index rising 0.7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained mostly flat.

This rebound serves as a direct correction to last week’s sharp market adjustment, during which the Nasdaq Index fell more than 4%, and chip stocks plummeted nearly 10%. On the policy front, Federal Reserve Chair Waller remained cautious about next week’s Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision and refused to give any predictions, emphasizing that recent elevated inflation data had not changed his outlook on the economy, even though markets generally expect rates to stay unchanged in October. The bond market responded accordingly, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rising about 6 basis points to 5.14%, in stark contrast to last week’s near 15 basis point drop. As of Monday midday, the S&P 500 Index was up 51 points to 7,711, the Dow Jones Index dipped 6 points to 51,996, and defensively oriented interest rate-sensitive sectors remained the weakest performers. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 511 points to 29,699, still about 2.3% below its September closing price. The Russell 2000 Index rose 0.6% to 2,736 points.

Notably, among the “Magnificent Seven,” Amazon (AMZN.US) jumped 4.9% to $262.32, highlighting the resilience of major tech stocks.

According to data compiled by Woofun AI, a detailed breakdown of industry ETFs and individual stocks revealed structural changes in capital flows. Among S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK.US) led with a 2.0% gain, followed by the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY.US) climbing 1.6%. Conversely, pressured by rising U.S. Treasury yields, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU.US) fell 1.6%, Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE.US) declined 1.2%, while Health Care (XLV.US), Energy (XLE.US), and Financials (XLF.US) all dropped about 0.8%.

At the ETF level, VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH.US) surged 3.0%, while iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV.US) rose 1.9%. Due to gold futures prices declining roughly 0.5% to about $4,160 per ounce, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX.US) dropped 1.3%, and the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME.US) edged up 0.7%.

In terms of individual stocks, AI chips led the rally: Intel (INTC.US) gained 5.0% after JP Morgan (JPM.US) upgraded its rating to “Neutral”, and Lam Research (LRCX.US) rose 5.4%. The memory chip sector rebounded after a steep decline last week: Micron Technology (MU.US) climbed about 4%, SanDisk (SNDK.US) soared nearly 7%, and SK Hynix gained around 6%. In optical chips, Marvell (MRVL.US) jumped 7.3%.

Unusual moves in special sectors and earnings-driven catalysts further enriched the market landscape. In the Russell 1000 Index, Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF.US) skyrocketed 16.0% to $14.06, making it the day’s top gainer. Its Q3 adjusted EPS came in at $0.28, beating the expected $0.21; adjusted EBITDA stood at $612 million. Management expects this to exceed $700 million in Q4 and $4 billion next year, credited to favorable steel price and production conditions driven by tariffs. Data center concept stocks rebounded after last week’s selling wave due to financing pressures: Applied Digital (APLD.US) climbed 10.2% to $19.89, TeraWulf (WULF.US) and IREN (IREN.US) both rose around 6%. Semiconductor equipment stocks also performed robustly, with FormFactor (FORM.US) up 8.4% to $113.78, and Teradyne (TER.US) rising 6.6%.

This rebound, jointly driven by fundamental outperformance and sector rotation, signals the market’s refocus on technology and industrial leaders with substantial earnings support after a short-term liquidity shock.