Strong earnings reports recharge "AI faith", technology stocks "explode" European and American stock indices

Continue to go ALL in on AI!

The financial reports of AI chip giants have brought continuous good news, and the European and American stock markets are going crazy with "buy" orders, with major stock indices reaching new highs.

In the overnight US stock market, the S&P 500 hit a new high for the fourth consecutive day, the FI2CSOPNASDAQ reached a new high for the fourth consecutive day, and the Nasdaq 100 index closed at a new high for the fifth consecutive day. Boosted by the optimistic sentiment towards AI, leading technology stocks such as AMD and Alphabet-C reached new highs during trading, while Microsoft and Meta closed at new highs for two consecutive days.

Major European stock indices also rose. Benefiting from the record-high stock prices of heavyweight stocks such as ASML and SAP, the blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 index closed at its highest level since May 2001 on Wednesday; the Euro Stoxx 600 index rose by more than 1%, marking the largest closing gain in three months. The market value of the European technology industry soared by 4.9%, adding approximately 48 billion euros (approximately 52.3 billion US dollars).

The impressive rise of the European and American stock markets is inseparable from the driving force of leading technology stocks. Since the earnings season, the outstanding performance of AI chip giants has continuously proven to the market that the AI wave will continue to sweep the world.

AI Chip Giants Bring Continuous Good News, Signaling Industry Recovery

The rapid development of AI technology has brought warmth to the chip industry, which has not yet fully emerged from the winter. The latest quarterly reports of TSMC and SK Hynix have both exceeded expectations.

TSMC: Revenue Continues to Hit Record Highs, Expected to Return to Growth Track

TSMC's Q4 revenue exceeds expectations, reaching the same level as the record high of the same period last year. Analysts believe that the development of AI has to some extent offset the decline in chip demand from electronic products such as smartphones and laptops. It is expected that TSMC will return to the growth track in 2024, with revenue challenging 2.5 trillion new Taiwan dollars.

The positive sentiment towards the development of AI has continuously supported TSMC's stock price, which has risen by 25% cumulatively since 2023.

SK Hynix: Turned Loss into Profit, HBM3 Growth Exceeded Fivefold

SK Hynix's Q4 revenue exceeded expectations, with a growth of 47%, and operating profit turned from loss to profit, with gross profit soaring by 9404%.

The most eye-catching product is that DDR5 sales have grown more than fourfold, and HBM3 growth has exceeded fivefold.

Industry executives predict that as AI technology accelerates its development and more chip services are launched, the chip industry will gradually rebound starting from 2024.

Tech Stocks Soar

Tech stocks, led by the "Big Seven," continue to rise. As pioneers in the AI wave, Microsoft and Alphabet-C have benefited greatly from this round of gains.

During Wednesday's trading session, Microsoft rose 1.7%, reaching a record market value of $3 trillion, surpassing Apple. The closing stock price also reached a historic high.

It is expected that with the development of AI technology, Microsoft's leading position in this field will gain more advantages. Ted Mortonson, an analyst at Baird's technology department, stated:

"The momentum of generative AI is strong, and Microsoft's products have a huge advantage."

"It is quite amazing to see a company of this scale achieve such growth. As long as we continue to see this growth, the stock price will continue to rise."

Alphabet-C also reached a new high during Wednesday's trading session, rising more than 1.9% at one point and closing with a 1.1% gain. Its current valuation is around $1.9 trillion.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Brian Pitz has given the stock of this search engine giant a "outperform" rating for the first time, and considering Alphabet-C's leading position in the AI field, he recommends it as the top pick for 2024.

So far this year, the Magnificent 7 has risen by 7.1%, surpassing the 4% gain of the Nasdaq 100 index.

Dutch lithography giant ASML has also benefited from strong chip sales, with new orders more than doubling to a historic high on a MoM basis. The closing stock price on Wednesday also reached a new high.