Semis are doing the heavy lifting again

The market found its sneakers

April has turned into one of those months where the market suddenly remembers how to sprint. The S&P 500 is up more than 9% so far and is tracking for its best monthly performance since November 2020. After March’s rough patch, that’s a pretty dramatic mood swing.

The real MVPs: chips

If the rally were a group project, semiconductors would be the kid doing all the work. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index has ripped higher, and according to The Kobeissi Letter, chip stocks are up 37.2% month-to-date. That’s not a little bounce. That’s a “did someone spill espresso on the circuit board?” kind of move.

Here’s who’s helping carry the bag:

• Intel has been on fire after blowout Q1 results and upbeat guidance, with AI demand giving its packaging and wafer business a boost.
• SanDisk keeps climbing as investors chase AI-memory names and stronger NAND pricing.
• AMD is riding the same AI wave, with demand for compute still running hotter than supply.

Why you should care

When chips lead, the rest of the market often follows — at least until it doesn’t. This rally is saying investors still want growth, AI exposure, and anything that smells remotely like the next compute bottleneck. That’s bullish for the sector, but it also means the market is leaning pretty hard on a narrow group of winners.

Big picture: the S&P 500 is having a breakout month, but semis are the ones holding the ladder.