Tech Rebound Halted a 2-Day Broader Market Decline

Barry Adams
15 Jan, 2026
New York City

Wall Street indexes halted a two-day slide, and tech stocks led gainers ahead of earnings. 

The S&P 500 index gained 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increased 3%, driven by advances in chip stocks. 

In Wednesday's trading, benchmark indexes decreased between 0.5% and 1% after the U.S. president announced another change in export control regarding the advanced chip shipments.

The Trump administration plans to approve the sale of Nvidia's H200 chip for artificial intelligence to China, injecting yet another layer of complexity. 

Investors remained focused on the release of quarterly results and overlooked rising geopolitical tensions linked to Venezuela, Iran, and Greenland. 

Gold and silver extended gains in early trading on speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve is more likely to trim fed funds rates by 25 basis points at the end of the meeting later in the month. 

In the year-to-date so far, silver soared 31%, and gold advanced 7.5% after Trump ramped up attacks on the Fed's independence and threatened Fed Chair Jerome Powell with criminal investigation.  

 

U.S. Movers 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company soared 6.1% to $347.32 after the advanced chipmaker announced better-than-expected quarterly results on record sales. 

The company said its capital expenditure is likely to range between $52 billion and $56 billion in 2026, compared to $40.9 billion in 2025, as the company delves further into advanced chips for high-performance computing. 

TSMC estimated current quarter revenue to range between $34.6 billion and $35.8 billion, an increase of 38% from a year ago. 

The advanced chipmaker is currently expanding its capacity in Kumamoto, Japan; in Dresden, Germany; and in Arizona, U.S.A.  

Wells Fargo extended two-day losses to 5% and fell to $89.20 after the financial services provider reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. 

The earnings in its latest quarter took a hit after the bank booked a $612 million charge linked to severance expenses. 

The company cut its employee base by about 6,000 in the latest quarter and lowered its staff to 205,198, a decline of nearly 30% from 272,000 at the end of 2019. 

Net interest income rose 4% to $12.3 billion, net income increased to $5.36 billion from $5.08 billion, and diluted earnings per share advanced to $1.62 from $1.43 a year ago.