S&P 500 and Dow Jones Climb; Intel's 14% Surge Steals the Show

If you're a semiconductor investor, today is your day. The Nasdaq-100 index is up 1.3% by 1:26 p.m. ET, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has gained 0.8%, and even the stodgy old Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) is 0.6% higher.

^NDX data by YCharts

A Bloomberg report dropped this morning suggesting that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) might be chatting with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) about making chips in the U.S. someday soon. That's the whole story. And it was enough to send Intel soaring 14% to an all-time high. Other tech stocks in Intel's splash zone jumped aboard the chipmaker's vintage coattails.

Intel itself is no longer a member of the Dow, but its jump was big enough to move the needle on the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 today.

Chip stocks and geopolitics

Intel's potential Apple partnership could be a game changer. The iPhone maker's processors are mostly made in Taiwan with manufacturing operations in China. Moving the supply chain to American soil would save Apple a ton of tariff expenses, and would obviously give Intel's Foundry business a key customer. It should be easy to build further growth from that starting point.

Intel gained 114% in April, and the Foundry division finally started pulling its weight. If the Bloomberg report is on target, this Apple deal would be the golden cherry on top of a tremendous turnaround.

Image source: Getty Images.

Memory-chip maker Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) added to the semiconductor momentum, rising 11.4% after announcing it had begun shipping the world's highest-capacity commercially available solid-state drive (SSD). The 245-terabyte device is designed for data centers, not gaming PCs. I don't have pricing information yet, but a 16-terabyte SSD from Micron currently retails for $10,000. The new device certainly won't be cheap, but it offers world-class power efficiency and data transfer speeds. As you might have guessed, Micron designed this drive for AI workloads.

On the Dow, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) led gainers with a 3.1% advance to $902, extending a strong year for the industrial giant. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) added 1.9%. Due to the Dow's price-weighted structure, these two stocks accounted for a disproportionate share of the index's move.

Goldman and Caterpillar typically outweigh their lower-priced peers even on a small move, but the construction equipment veteran actually posted the Dow's largest percentage move, too. Investors are excited about a rising tide of bullish earnings reports.

It should be said, however, that the Iranian conflict is sending negative signals. American leaders say that the weeks-long ceasefire is holding, but shots have been fired and there's no oil shipping to speak of in the Strait of Hormuz right now. The war continues to weigh heavily on macroeconomic metrics, but Wall Street chooses to turn the other cheek and let the top metrics explore all-time highs for now.

What it means for investors

Today's action continues a pattern that has defined 2026 so far: AI-related spending driving outsized returns in chip stocks, in the shadow of geopolitical risks.

For long-term investors, the Intel-Apple news underscores a broader theme: supply chain diversification is becoming a strategic priority for major technology companies. Whether this particular deal happens is almost beside the point unless you're an Intel or Apple investor. The market is pricing in a world where chip manufacturing diversifies away from Taiwan. If your portfolio isn't positioned for that, today's a good day to ask why.

Anders Bylund has positions in Intel and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Caterpillar, Goldman Sachs Group, Intel, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.