Stocks Rally as Chip Makers Rebound

Market Overview - Stocks and bonds received support from dovish comments by New York Fed President John Williams, indicating potential adjustments to the federal funds rate to align with neutral policy [1] - The S&P 500 Index closed up by +0.98%, the Dow Jones Industrials Index by +1.08%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index by +0.77% [5] - Semiconductor stocks led the market rally, with notable gains from companies like GlobalFoundries (+5%) and ON Semiconductor (+4%) [15] Economic Indicators - The University of Michigan's November 1-year inflation expectations were revised lower to 4.5% from 4.7%, and the 5-10 year expectations were revised to 3.4% from 3.6% [2] - The consumer sentiment index for November was revised upward by +0.7 to 51.0, surpassing expectations of 50.6 [2] - The S&P manufacturing PMI for November fell -0.6 to 51.9, close to expectations of 52.0 [2] Corporate Earnings - Q3 earnings season is concluding, with 82% of S&P 500 companies exceeding forecasts, resulting in a +14.6% increase in earnings, significantly above the expected +7.2% [8] - Azenta Inc reported Q4 revenue of $159 million, exceeding the consensus of $156.4 million, leading to a +16% stock increase [17] - Ross Stores reported Q3 sales of $5.60 billion, stronger than the consensus of $5.41 billion, resulting in an +8% stock increase [17] Sector Performance - Home builders and building suppliers saw gains due to falling 10-year T-note yields, with Builders FirstSource closing up more than +7% [14] - Defense stocks retreated following news of a peace plan in Ukraine, with L3Harris Technologies down more than -2% [16] - Chip makers experienced a recovery, contributing to the overall market rise, with several companies closing up more than +3% [15] International Markets - Overseas stock markets closed lower, with the Euro Stoxx 50 down -0.98% and China's Shanghai Composite down -2.45% [9]