U.S. stocks ended higher on October 16 with the S&P 500 up 0.4 % and Nasdaq gaining 0.7 %, led by strong earnings from AI-chip leaders Nvidia and TSMC. TSMC raised revenue guidance on surging AI chip demand while Salesforce shares rose after robust forecasts. Analysts said the rally underscored resilient corporate profitability despite trade-policy uncertainty between the U.S. and China.