🚀 Semiconductor stocks surge

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Market Overview
Read time 1.4 minutes

Year To Date Performances:

1. President Biden signed the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act, repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which for decades reduced Social Security benefits for over 2.5 million public sector workers and their families. The changes will bring an average $360 monthly increase in benefits and retroactive lump sum payments for 2024. Advocates hailed the legislation, passed with strong bipartisan support, as a historic step toward fairness for teachers, firefighters, and other public employees, honoring their service by ensuring full access to Social Security benefits.

2. Global semiconductor stocks surged Monday following Foxconn’s record-breaking Q4 revenues of $63.9 billion, driven by robust growth in AI-related cloud and networking products. Shares of Nvidia, AMD, and other chipmakers rose as Foxconn’s results underscored the continued AI boom. The rally was further fueled by Microsoft’s $80 billion AI data center investment plan for 2025, signaling sustained demand for GPUs. Gains extended globally, with Asia’s TSMC hitting record highs and Europe’s ASML and Infineon climbing over 5%. Despite slight declines in smartphone sales, the sector’s AI-driven momentum remains strong.

3. Confidence among UK businesses has fallen to its lowest level since the 2022 "mini-budget" crisis, according to a British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey, with many firms planning price hikes to offset higher tax payouts. The Labour government’s recent budget, which raised National Insurance contributions for many employers, has exacerbated concerns, with 63% of businesses citing taxes as a top worry. While the government defends the increases as necessary for fiscal stability, the BCC warns that uncertainty and rising costs are discouraging investment, threatening economic growth in an already stagnant economy.

4. Headlines

   1. Tesla announced record sales for 2024 in China despite an overall decline.

   2. US markets did not benefit from the regular “Santa Rally” as stocks were down over the period covering the last 5 trading days of 2024 and first 2 trading days of 2025.

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