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Popular funds that sell options for income may be moderating the recent volatility in U.S. stocks, continuing the calming effect they have had on the market over the past few months. According to Morningstar, assets in derivative income ETFs (funds that utilize equities and equity derivative portfolios to generate income) have risen to about $71 billion from $33 billion at the end of 2022. Some options mavens argue that these funds and other options-selling strategies have moderated the volatility of stocks, which is another reason for the stock market's prolonged calm.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan chipmaker TSMC on Wednesday reported first-quarter revenue growth of 16.5%, beating market expectations and hitting the upper end of the company's own guidance, as demand for artificial intelligence applications led to a surge in sales. The world's largest maker of carrier chips, whose customers include Apple and Nvidia, benefited from the AI wave that helped it stave off a pandemic-induced contraction in demand, driving TSMC's shares to a record high. That's not far off Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s previous forecast of first-quarter revenue between $18 billion and $18.8 billion.

European Union standalone browser companies saw a surge in users in the first month after European Union legislation forced Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and Apple to make it easier for users to switch to competitors' browsers, according to data provided by six companies to Reuters. The EU's Digital Markets Act, which aims to eliminate unfair competition, came into force on March 7, and has had initial success by forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to choose from a list of available Web browsers on a "selection screen. Browsers are software that help users connect to the Internet, and have traditionally been offered for free by big tech companies such as Apple and Google in exchange for advertisements on Web sites that track consumers' visits.

Asian stocks were subdued as investors watched closely to see what interventions Japan might take to stem the yen's decline and waited for U.S. inflation data due later Wednesday to provide clues about future interest rate moves. The MSCI Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Index of Asia-Pacific equities, the broadest index of stocks outside Japan, rose 0.2% after U.S. stocks ended the day on a modestly higher note. Australian stocks rose 0.3% in the morning, while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.41%.