Nasdaq hits new record as investors rush back into technology shares

The Nasdaq surged to an intraday all-time high and a record close on April 15, its first closing peak since October 2025, as traders moved back into technology shares and bid the index above 24,020 points. The 1.6% advance took it past its previous high of 24,019.99 set on October 29, when Nvidia became the first company in history to reach a $5 trillion market value.

The rebound underscored how much of the market’s momentum still rests on a small group of giant AI and chip names. After a sharp correction earlier in 2026, investors had grown wary of lofty valuations, doubts about whether heavy AI spending would produce adequate returns, and concern that AI tools could disrupt software businesses. By Wednesday, that caution had eased enough for buyers to return to the same megacap leaders that drove last year’s record run.

The wider backdrop had also improved. The Nasdaq had fallen into correction territory in late March after the Middle East conflict intensified, oil prices jumped and inflation fears clouded the outlook for monetary policy. More recently, ceasefire hopes and U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad that ended without an agreement still left the geopolitical picture fragile, but the market was willing to lean back into risk as the war appeared less likely to worsen.

Chipmakers led the advance, and the semiconductor business remains a central pillar of the rally. TSMC, the world’s largest manufacturer of advanced AI chips, reported a 35% rise in first-quarter revenue and was expected to post a fourth consecutive quarter of record profit on strong demand for AI infrastructure. That kind of earnings power has become the clearest defense of the trade: investors are rewarding companies that can turn AI spending into measurable revenue and profit, not just promises.

Amazon also helped revive confidence after a stretch of skepticism about whether its AI push would pay off. In a shareholder letter on April 9, chief executive Andy Jassy said Amazon Web Services’ AI services were generating more than $15 billion in annualized revenue, while the company’s custom chip portfolio had doubled to more than $20 billion. The disclosure gave investors a concrete number to anchor a business that had been under pressure earlier in 2026.

The earnings setup now looks more favorable for the sector. Information technology profits are projected to grow 46.2%, up from 35.8% expected earlier in the year, a shift that suggests the market is once again paying for growth with earnings behind it. The latest Nasdaq record showed that tech is not simply rallying again; it is once more dominating the market’s imagination, and its concentration in a handful of giants remains the defining feature of the move.