Tom Lee Eyes S&P 8,000 as Chip Stocks Surge 3%+ on AI Revival

While geopolitics tried its best to rain on the parade, July kicked off with a chip-led rip that reminded everyone who's actually running this market. AMD surged 8.5%, Qualcomm jumped 6%, and Broadcom added 4% — the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index popped more than 3% in a single session. Meanwhile, $AVGO just locked in an Apple chip partnership extension through 2031, adding next-gen AI server silicon to its resume. That's not a bounce — that's a statement.

Fundstrat's Tom Lee isn't flinching. He's holding his S&P 500 year-end target of 8,000 — with upside to 8,800 on 2027 earnings of $400 at a 22x multiple — arguing that Q2 earnings beats have actually made valuations cheaper than January. Fund managers trailing benchmarks will buy dips, he says. RBC's Lori Calvasina agrees, calling her 8,150 target 'healthy, not heroic.' Oh, and $800 million in fresh Trump Account capital just got deployed into equities. That's not nothing.

The AI trade is no longer a Mag 7 country club — energy, data center infrastructure plays like $WULF, and memory giants like SK Hynix are all crashing the party. Broadening participation is usually what a bull market looks like right before it gets uncomfortable to be bearish.