Nasdaq opens up 0.4%, semiconductor index gains 2.3%

The divergence between a surging semiconductor index and Apple's slide despite a beat points to margin pressure from memory costs as the more telling signal than headline growth. Chip names tied to memory and AI infrastructure are drawing the bid, while a mega-cap hardware bellwether is being marked down on cost and services softness — a rotation within tech rather than a broad risk-on move. Whether memory-cost pressure keeps compressing hardware margins, and whether chip strength broadens beyond the memory-linked names, is the open question.