NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes are ticking higher on Thursday following an encouraging signal for the artificial-intelligence boom.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, though trading has been erratic this week, and stocks have repeatedly swung between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 116 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.

Technology stocks helped lead the way after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported a bigger jump in profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang also said TSMC expects “continued strong demand for our leading-edge process technologies” going into the end of the year.

That’s important for the U.S. stock market because TSMC is a critical player at the

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