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US stock futures climbed on Thursday, signaling a recovery from back-to-back losses as chip linchpin TSMC’s strong outlook boosted AI hopes in the wait for more big bank earnings.
Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) rose 0.5% to lead the way higher, with S&P 500 futures (ES=F) up roughly 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) hovered above the flat line, after Wall Street closed out its second straight day of losses.
TSMC, the world’s largest chipmaker, posted a 35% jump in fourth quarter profit on Thursday thanks to the AI boom on Thursday. The major supplier to Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) said it plans to ramp up investment in 2026, hinting at possible US factories, amid continuous strong demand. US-listed shares in the Taiwanese company popped before the bell.
Technology shares led losses on Wednesday, dragging the major indexes into the red. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed down 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dropped 1%. All three benchmarks have now posted back-to-back declines.
Looking ahead, investors will be watching a fresh batch of earnings from Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), and BlackRock (BLK), alongside the release of weekly jobless claims data.
Investor sentiment also continues to see strong impacts from geopolitical issues, as Trump administration officials met Wednesday with Danish and Greenlandic leaders while the president continues to push for US control of Greenland. A Danish official said the talks failed to resolve what he called a “fundamental disagreement” over ownership.
Markets have also been rattled by Trump’s continued legal and verbal barrage on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Concerns about the Fed’s independence intensified this week after Powell confirmed that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation involving the central bank chief.
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TSMC to ramp up spending as profit jumps 35% on AI boost
Shares of TSMC (TSM, 2330.TW) rose early Thursday after the world’s biggest contract chipmaker posted a forecast-smashing 35% jump in fourth quarter profit thanks to the AI boom.
The company also predicted robust growth in 2026 and said it plans to increase investment, hinting that more US factories are in the works.
Riding high on what it calls the “AI mega trend”, TSMC said its customers were “providing strong signals” and reaching out directly to request capacity, per Reuters.
AP reported:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a major supplier to companies including Nvidia and Apple, reported a net profit of 506 billion new Taiwan dollars ($16 billion) for the October-December quarter, a 35% surge from a year earlier, better than analysts’ estimates.
TSMC said Thursday that its revenue in the last quarter increased 21% from a year earlier to more than 1.046 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($33 billion).
TSMC said it plans to boost its capital expenditure budget to $52 billion-$56 billion for 2026, up from about $40 billion last year. The company’s shares have climbed more than 8% since the beginning of the year, reflecting its strong position in the AI-driven market.
… “We expect our business to be supported by continuous strong demand for our leading edge process technologies,” Wendell Huang, TSMC’s chief financial officer, said in a conference call. He said spending would be “significantly higher” in the next three years.
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Microsoft to set record with soil credit purchase to offset data centers
Reuters reports:
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Oil prices drop after Trump indicates the US will not intervene in Iran’s attack on civilians
Bloomberg reports:
Oil fell for the first time in six days after US President Donald Trump signaled he may hold off on attacking Iran for now.
Brent (BZ=F) dropped as much as 2.9% to trade below $65 a barrel after gaining about 11% over the past week while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) was near $60. Trump said he’d been assured that Iran would stop killing protesters, reducing the likelihood of an immediate US military response to the demonstrations against the government of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and of disruptions to Iranian production and key shipping lanes.
Elsewhere, US government data showed nationwide crude stockpiles rose 3.4 million barrels last week — the largest build since early November. The rising inventories, more Venezuelan oil heading to the US, plus a disruption at a key terminal in the Black Sea has pushed WTI to near the deepest discount in 15 months relative to Brent.
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