(Reuters) -Semiconductor stocks advanced on Thursday after top contract chipmaker TSMC issued a rosy forecast, fanning optimism about demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure in a week of multi-billion-dollar deals across the sector. The company posted a record quarterly profit and raised its annual revenue expectation, pointing to robust demand from customers including AI chip giant Nvidia and Apple. Earlier this week, major deals were announced in the AI sector. A $40 billion acquisition of data-center operator Aligned by a BlackRock-led group, which followed a pact between OpenAI and Broadcom to build 10 gigawatts of custom chips, enough to power more than 8 million U.S. households. The developments show that Wall Street's "picks and shovels" trade around AI hardware remains st

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