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This week was marked by strong, event-driven volatility across the tech sector.
Market moves were shaped by artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure announcements, semiconductor earnings, signals of macroeconomic stress and escalating tensions between the US and China.
Effects of the US government shutdown, coupled with renewed trade tensions between the world’s largest tech markets, weighed on global equities. Quarterly results from regional banks eased earlier concerns about credit risks after Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ:ZION) and Western Alliance (NYSE:WAL) disclosed loan issues related to apparent fraud.
Wall Street ultimately saw weekly gains, despite a midweek selloff that impacted high-value, high-risk sectors.
Hardware and infrastructure were the core positive contributors in the tech sector, reflecting the ongoing AI supercycle investment theme fueled by chip production and data center buildouts.
Semiconductor stocks were the standout performers, boosted by record earnings reports from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE:TSM) on Tuesday (October 14) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) on Wednesday (October 15). Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) also rose alongside TSMC, contributing to PHLX Semiconductor Sector's (INDEXNASDAQ:SOX) 1.2 percent rebound on Thursday (October 16).
Advanced Micro Devices' (NASDAQ:AMD) deal with Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) to deploy 50,000 GPUs, which was announced the same day as TSMC’s earnings, added a competitive dynamic that sparked selective volatility among chipmakers; at the same time, it underscored strong AI-driven hardware demand across the sector.
In consumer hardware, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) product launch was notable, but not the primary market mover.
Data centers also had a big impact, highlighted by Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) US$14 billion Texas AI data center partnership with Nscale, and Brookfield Asset Management’s (TSX:BAM,NYSE:BAM) US$5 billion investment in Bloom Energy's (NYSE:BE) fuel cell technology for powering AI-focused data centers. Oracle is forecasting acceleration in its AI data center business, indicating expanding hardware-backed infrastructure demand
Software and cloud-native company movements were more mixed, with gains from Salesforce (NYSE:CRM), but declines from others like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR).
3 tech stocks that moved markets this week
1. Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Broadcom shares surged nearly 10 percent on Monday (October 13) after OpenAI announced a multi-year agreement to co-develop custom AI GPUs. The collaboration will focus on deploying 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators designed by OpenAI and built by Broadcom, with deployment set to start in H2 2026 and continue through 2029.
Later, multiple reports emerged citing individuals claiming that OpenAI is also partnering with Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) to produce custom CPUs to work alongside its Broadcom co-designed chip.
Shares of Arm also advanced by over 11 percent.
2. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD)
Oracle and AMD also announced a major partnership this week, where Oracle will deploy 50,000 AMD-powered MI450 GPUs in its cloud infrastructure starting in the third quarter of 2026, with plans for ongoing expansion.
AMD’s share price rose by over 9 percent on the news, with the deal creating competitive pressure for rival chipmakers like NVIDIA. Meanwhile, Oracle shares declined by almost 7 percent on Friday (October 17) after the firm's CEO, Clay Magouryk, provided an upbeat projection to analysts, indicating that the deployment of 50,000 AMD-powered MI450 GPUs will significantly accelerate Oracle’s AI business growth.
However, analysts highlighted the potential for a significantly high CAPEX, possibly leading to negative free cashflow totaling more than US$26 billion over the next three fiscal years.
3. Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)
Shares of Salesforce rose by almost 4 percent on Thursday after the company announced a revenue target of US$60 billion by 2030 during its Investor Day at Dreamforce event on Wednesday.
Salesforce plans to achieve this ambitious target through accelerated adoption of AI-powered cloud platforms and ongoing innovation in enterprise software services, as well as expanded use of generative AI across its CRM, analytics, and automation suites.
Tech ETF performance
This week, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) advanced by 1.94 percent, while the Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXQ) saw a weekly gain of 1.66 percent.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) increased by 1.59 percent.
These modest gains occurred against a backdrop of heightened volatility, indicating ongoing optimism in the long-term growth of the semiconductor industry.
Other tech market news
- Anthropic told investment bankers that it is preparing for more acquisitions to improve its AI models and infrastructure, as per a Wednesday report from the Information.
- Nuclear power and its potential to fuel AI and data center growth were in focus this week. First, shares of small modular reactor developer NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR) rose after the US Army announced the Janus Program, an initiative to back the construction of commercially owned and operated nuclear microreactors. During a fireside chat at the AI+ Fusion Summit that same day, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright affirmed the Trump administration's commitment to accelerating fusion innovation, citing its transformative potential driven by AI, quantum computing and materials science. Wright emphasized partnerships with private companies and national labs to deploy AI-powered data centers.
- Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is partnering with OpenAI to allow its customers to shop by integrating AI-powered conversational capabilities through ChatGPT.
- Wednesday saw Apple introduce new consumer products with its new M5 chip, including an updated Vision Pro mixed-reality headset that offers a 10 core CPU and GPU with neural accelerators, and a new 14 inch MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. It also announced new consumer home devices, including a table-top robot and a central smart home hub, with manufacturing shifting to Vietnam via a partnership with BYD (SZSE:002594,OTC Pink:BYDDF).
- The Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership (AIP), a group that includes BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Microsoft and NVIDIA, is acquiring Aligned Data Centers for US$40 billion. This first AIP investment aims to expand AI and cloud capacity by leveraging Aligned’s portfolio of 50 campuses and over 5 gigawatts across the Americas. The consortium is planning an initial US$30 billion equity deployment, potentially scaling to US$100 billion with debt. Aligned will maintain its Dallas headquarters and retain CEO Andrew Schaap, focusing on sustainable data solutions for hyperscalers and enterprises.
Tech news to watch next week
Next week brings quarterly earnings from major tech firms Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) on October 22, followed by Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) on October 23.
Any new developments in US-China relations, potential technology export restrictions or antitrust actions could significantly affect tech stock performance. Market watchers will also be on the lookout for any indication of an end to the US government shutdown.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Meagen Seatter, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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