Chips Bounce, AI Users Still Bought: Midday 10
Chips — bounce 2.5% to break an eight-day losing run; QQQ back above 720, AI users still bought
The chip index is up for the first time in nine sessions, software follows, Accenture rises again. Thomas expects profit-taking into the close and another leg down tomorrow.
In this edition
The Midday 10 Mon, Oct 19, 2026 ~60 seconds 12:30 ET
The chip stocks are bouncing. At about 12:50 in New York the Philadelphia chip index is up 2.5% at 11,418 — on course for its first gain in nine sessions after an eight-day slide that put it in a bear market. Micron is up 3.3%, AMD 3.2%, Broadcom 2.6%, TSMC's US shares 2.5% and Nvidia 1.9%. Software follows: the software fund IGV +1.7%, Palantir +5.0%, Snowflake +3.4%. The Nasdaq-100 fund QQQ is up 1.5% at 720.64, back above the 720 line and still under the 728.95 support it broke on Friday.
This morning we named the test for the week: if the companies that put AI to work keep rising on a day the chips bounce, the rotation is real. At midday it holds — Accenture is up 1.9% at 234.03 and Cognizant 0.7%. What is sold is the hiding place: utilities −1.7%, health care −0.7%, staples −0.5%. The VIX, Wall Street's fear gauge, eases to 18.1, and the 10-year yield rises to 5.15%.
What counts is the close, and Thomas's read is that this bounce gets sold: profit-taking into the final hour and another leg down tomorrow. Three things decide whether today is a turn or an intraday bounce: the chip index finishing green, which ends the eight-day run; QQQ finishing above 720 — better above 728.95; and Accenture holding its gain while chips rise.
US intraday quotes at about 12:51 ET (16:51 UTC), measured against Friday's closes; intraday prints are not closes. Quotes via Yahoo Finance. Chip index record close of 22 June 2026 from Yahoo Finance daily closes; Print Record windows from the site's Print Record cards.
- Chips — first gain in nine sessions: chip index +2.5%, Micron +3.3%, AMD +3.2%
- AI users — Accenture +1.9% to 234.03, Cognizant +0.7%: no give-back on a chip bounce
- Software — back after Friday's sell-off: IGV +1.7%, Palantir +5.0%, Snowflake +3.4%
- Nasdaq-100 — QQQ +1.5% to 720.64, back above 720, under the 728.95 support
- Defensives — the hiding place is sold: utilities −1.7%, health care −0.7%, staples −0.5%
- Rates — 10-year up to 5.15%, long bonds −0.8%; VIX eases to 18.1
- Borrowers lag the bounce: CoreWeave flat at 61.47, Oracle +1.5%
- Print Record — ASML window closes tonight: +1.3% from entry, in the flat zone
- Print Record — TSMC back above its entry: 422.75 vs 422.25, window closes Tuesday
- Follow-up — this morning's Pulse: the bear market, and what was different from July
The ten lines
- 1
UP Chips — first gain in nine sessions: chip index +2.5%, Micron +3.3%, AMD +3.2%
SOXXMUAMDAVGOTSMNVDA
The Philadelphia chip index trades at 11,418, up 2.5% and on course to end eight straight losing days; it is still 22.0% below its 22 June record close of 14,635, so still in a bear market. The chip fund SOXX is up 2.7% at 506.54. Micron +3.3% to 907.93, AMD +3.2% to 545.52, Broadcom +2.6% to 337.39, TSMC's US shares +2.5% to 422.75, Nvidia +1.9% to 218.09.
- 2
UP AI users — Accenture +1.9% to 234.03, Cognizant +0.7%: no give-back on a chip bounce
The companies that put AI to work inside other businesses had their best week in years and do not give it back today. Accenture rises 1.9% to 234.03, Cognizant 0.7% to 66.49, Infosys' US shares are flat at 12.25. This was this morning's test: if they held while chips bounced, the rotation is a shift, not a hedge. At midday it holds.
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- 3
UP Software — back after Friday's sell-off: IGV +1.7%, Palantir +5.0%, Snowflake +3.4%
IGVPLTRSNOWPANWMSFT
The software fund IGV is up 1.7% at 106.11 after Friday's 4.8% fall. Palantir +5.0% to 195.37, Snowflake +3.4% to 317.33, Palo Alto Networks +2.0%, Microsoft +0.9% to 533.82. The bounce wins back about a third of Friday's loss.
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Ten lines on the US midday tape, not advice — an investment diary. Published every trading day at 12:30 ET. See The Morning 10 and the Daily Pulse.