Stocks hit record highs despite Broadcom AI demand miss

Stocks extended record highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at new peaks, despite a significant drop in Broadcom's stock. Broadcom fell 13% after reporting underwhelming demand for its AI products. This contrasted with previous market behavior where such a decline in a major chip stock might have triggered broader market panic. The Nasdaq Composite finished nearly flat, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index, which includes many chip manufacturers, lost only 2%. The market's resilience is attributed to several factors: healthy breadth, with 363 stocks in the S&P 500 rising, indicating that non-tech sectors are supporting the indexes; a settling down of 'AI whiplash,' suggesting traders view Broadcom's issues as company-specific rather than a sign of declining industry demand; and a growing investor comfort in differentiating between market winners and losers in the AI trade. This suggests a maturing market where individual company performance is becoming more critical than indiscriminate sector-wide movements.