U.S. stock index futures were little changed Thursday evening as strength in tech shares and a strong report from TSMC helped Wall Street break a two-session slide.
Gains were further supported by upbeat results from Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, though worries over escalating geopolitical risks in Iran limited the broader market advance.
S&P 500 futures edged up 0.1% to 6,988.50 by 18:35 ET (23:35 GMT). Nasdaq 100 futures also gained 0.1% to 25,727.0, while Dow Jones futures ticked up to 49,670.0.
Tech, chipmakers rise after TSMC’s bumper Q4
Chipmakers led Wall Street higher on Thursday after TSMC (NYSE:TSM) reported record fourth-quarter earnings and pointed to continued strong demand driven by artificial intelligence. As the world’s largest contract chip producer and a key industry barometer, TSMC surged 4.4% in U.S. trading.
Customer NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) advanced 2.2% after its report, while competitor AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) gained 1.9%. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei noted that both the firm’s clients and their own customers are still eager to secure more semiconductors amid a major buildout of AI infrastructure.
Wei also projected a steep increase in capital investment in 2026 as the company scales production to meet accelerating demand. Chip strength extended modestly into the wider tech sector, which had seen some profit-taking earlier in the week after sharp early January gains.
Wall St breaks 2-day losing streak, bank stocks gain
Wall Street’s major indexes ended a two-day slide on Thursday, helped by gains in tech stocks and upbeat earnings from several banks. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) jumped 4.6% and 5.8% after reporting strong December quarter results—boosting sentiment despite softer bank earnings earlier in the week.
The results effectively kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season, with a wave of heavyweight names set to follow. Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM), and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) will release earnings on Tuesday, while Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is due Wednesday.
Later in the week, Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), and Intuitive Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:ISRG) are among many firms scheduled to report. By the close, the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.3%, the NASDAQ Composite added 0.25%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed with a 0.6% gain fueled by bank strength.
The three major indexes had dropped for two consecutive sessions earlier this week amid market anxiety over escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran.
Sources: Investing
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