TSMC, the world’s biggest producer of advanced chips, raised its full-year revenue forecast on a bullish outlook for spending on AI.
US-listed shares of the company, which also posted a better-than-expected record quarterly profit, rose 2% premarket.
Shares of some major US chipmakers also advanced, building on gains from yesterday when ASML’s solid quarterly results and a US$40 billion data centre deal by BlackRock and a Nvidia-backed group fueled optimism around AI.
Nvidia rose 1.3%, Micron Technology added 3.7% and Broadcom gained 1.7%.
The AI-driven momentum and optimism around US rate cuts have helped markets in recent months.
AI-related tech stocks were among the biggest boosts to markets this week.
Robust earnings from major US banks also grabbed attention this week, offering fresh signs of economic resilience at a time when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an ongoing government shutdown.
The S&P 500 banking index registered its first three-day winning streak in more than three weeks yesterday as the country’s six biggest lenders exceeded Wall Street expectations for third-quarter (Q3) profit this week.
At 7.25am, Dow E-minis were up 120 points, or 0.26%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 29.25 points, or 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 154 points, or 0.62%.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the recent escalation of China-US trade tensions.
“While equities have rebounded considerably from last week’s lows … it seems unlikely that said damage will be entirely erased unless and until participants do indeed have faith that latest round of tariff threats are indeed just that, and not a realistic prospect,” Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone, said in a note.
China accused the US of stoking panic over its rare earth controls and said treasury secretary Scott Bessent had made “grossly distorted” remarks about a top Chinese trade negotiator, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs.
Yesterday, top US officials blasted China’s major expansion of rare earth export controls as a threat to global supply chains, stressing that Washington did not want to escalate the conflict.
President Donald Trump’s threat to cancel the US-China meet and impose an additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods capped investors’ risk appetite last week.
Bessent emphasised that Trump is ready to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.
A slate of Fed officials including governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller, vice chair for supervision Michelle Bowman and Richmond president Thomas Barkin are set to speak later in the day.
Among other moves, Salesforce rose 5.3% as the company said it expects revenue of more than US$60 billion in 2030, above Wall Street estimates.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise slumped 9.7% after it forecast annual profit and revenue below Wall Street expectations.
JB Hunt shares gained 12.8% after a higher Q3 profit.