2 Stocks Breaking Out Post-FOMC With One Thing in Common

The AI trade is attempting to regain its footing after a volatile stretch, with strength beginning to broaden beyond NVIDIA. A strong post-Fed rebound in semiconductor stocks could offer an early signal that investors are rotating back toward AI infrastructure and chip names. Advanced Micro Devices and Intel have emerged near the front of that move, but both now face the question of whether momentum can extend after major 2026 rallies.

The Federal Reserve delivered its interest rate decision on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and the market's response in the following session was telling. As stocks pushed higher on Thursday, Sept. 17, all but confirming a post-FOMC bear trap, two AI-related names in particular broke out with real force. They also share a common thread that goes beyond the chart. Both Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ: AMD and Intel NASDAQ: INTC are central players in the AI trade, the same trade that wobbled in recent weeks on fresh fears of an AI slowdown. However, these two now look like early leaders as that narrative and the broader technology sector work to regain their footing. After a stretch of doubt that knocked the wind out of AI-linked names, capital appears to be flowing back in. And it is not simply piling back into NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA . The fact that AMD and Intel have so far led the charge in heavy volume suggests the AI trade may be broadening as it recovers, with investors starting to reward names beyond the obvious winners.

Advanced Micro Devices jumped more than 6% on Thursday to close at $545.09, leading the broader chip sector higher and climbing back toward its 52-week high. It has been a spectacular year for the stock, now up more than 154% in 2026, as the market increasingly treats AMD as the most credible challenger to NVIDIA in AI accelerators. The bull case rests on the company's Instinct line of AI chips, which continue to win data-center business, and on projected earnings growth of a remarkable 111% in the year ahead. That trajectory is why investors have been willing to pay up. AMD currently appears on MarketBeat's most-upgraded stocks list , reflecting a steady run of positive analyst revisions. Overall, the stock holds a consensus Moderate Buy rating across 47 analysts. The main drawback is that after such an enormous rally, the stock now trades close to its average price target of $565.13, leaving only modest upside based on the Street's current numbers. But price action is king, and AMD is a momentum and growth story right now, and Thursday's move suggests that momentum is firmly intact.

Intel Corporation was the bigger mover of the two, surging nearly 8% on Thursday to $108.80, and its run this year has been even more dramatic, up almost 195%. That is a stunning reversal for a company many investors had written off in prior years, and it reflects how much sentiment around its long-troubled turnaround has shifted. The recent catalysts have been stacking up for the company, too. INTC reportedly raised enterprise CPU prices by 10% amid tight server chip supply, confirmed a major ma...