NASDAQ opens higher as chip stocks drive gains after brutal selloff

The Nasdaq Composite bounced back on September 29 after getting roughed up the day before, with semiconductor stocks doing most of the heavy lifting. Nasdaq-100 futures climbed between 0.2% and 0.4% in early trading, a modest but welcome reversal after the index shed nearly a full percentage point in the prior session. The September 28 close of 26,820.38 represented a 248-point drop, or 0.92%, driven largely by rising bond yields and a broad tech selloff. Premarket activity surged not just for Nvidia but across the semiconductor space. Micron Technology, Broadcom, and AMD all saw elevated trading volumes as investors rotated back into the sector following the previous day’s indiscriminate selling. Nvidia plays the buyback card The star of the rebound was Nvidia, which announced a $150 billion increase to its share repurchase program. Buybacks reduce the number of shares outstanding, which tends to push earnings per share higher even if the underlying business stays flat. Just a week earlier, on September 22, the Nasdaq had hit a record close of 27,244.28, riding a wave of AI-related enthusiasm that has defined much of 2026’s market narrative. The pullback that followed looked more ...