The S&P 500 and Nasdaq index hit record highs Wednesday after TI's comments on global chip demand eased market concerns and mitigated the impact of weak performance reports from Boeing and Caterpillar.
Texas Instruments (TXN.O) jumped 7.4 percent after hinting that the global slowdown in chip demand would not last as long as people feared, pushing the Philadelphia Chip Index up 3.1 percent to a record high.
Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird, said, "Semiconductor investors are looking to the future now, and they say that economic concerns may begin to subside in the second half of this year."
However, trade-sensitive Caterpillar (CAT.N) fell 4.5 per cent after announcing disappointing profits due to weak sales in China and rising production and restructuring costs.
The world's largest aircraft manufacturer, Boeing (BA.N), fell 3.1 percent after it reported its biggest quarterly loss ever as its best-selling 737 MAX stopped flying after two fatal crashes this year.
The poor performance of the two companies dragged down the Dow.
It has been two weeks since the start of the earnings season. Investors'expectations for this season's performance are not high. About 77% of 138 S& P 500 companies that have reported earnings exceeded expectations, according to data from Lufford.
Nevertheless, the market now expects the overall earnings per share of S&P 500 companies to fall by 0.1%, compared with an expected increase of about 1%.
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