The semiconductor industry had quite the trading session on the stock market Thursday. The 800-pound gorilla of the sector delivered satisfying quarterly results, and as a consequence, many chipmakers and affiliated companies saw their share prices rise in sympathy.

Among the numerous gainers were Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), both of which gained 4.5% in share price on the day. That figure was more than good enough to trounce the benchmark S 500 index, which bumped less than 1% higher.

Said gorilla is mighty contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), whose stock zoomed almost 10% higher in price following the publication of its latest set of quarterly results. Although the powerful semiconductor beast posted year-over-year declines in both revenue and earnings for its fourth quarter, both figures comfortably beat the average analyst estimates.

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Source Fool.com