March Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures rose 0.59% this morning, continuing a tech rally. The move followed strong earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. that boosted optimism around artificial intelligence.
Memory chipmakers also gained in pre-market trading. Micron Technology climbed over 6% after a regulatory filing showed director Teyin Liu purchased about $7.8 million worth of shares this week. SanDisk advanced more than 5% and Western Digital rose over 4%.
In Thursday's session, Wall Street indices ended higher. U.S.-listed shares of TSMC jumped over 4% after the chipmaker reported a record fourth-quarter profit. The company projected faster-than-expected 2026 revenue growth and provided strong capital expenditure guidance for this year.
Chip stocks rallied following TSMC's results. KLA Corp. surged more than 7%, leading gainers in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Applied Materials rose over 5%. BlackRock advanced more than 5% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
Coinbase Global slumped over 6% after the Senate Banking Committee delayed a hearing on a cryptocurrency bill. The move came after Coinbase withdrew its support.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to a six-week low of 198,000. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to a four-month high of 12.6 in January. The Empire State manufacturing index increased to 7.70. The import price index rose 0.4% month-over-month in November.
"If earnings continue to beat expectations and economic data remains supportive, the likely path remains advance, backfill, then advance again," said Kenny Polcari of SlateStone Wealth.
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Thursday the central bank's primary focus should be curbing inflation. "We've been five years fighting to get inflation on a path back to 2% and we made some progress, but we need that, and if we get that, I think rates can come down," Goolsbee said.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated, "We need to make sure that we stay in a restrictive stance, because inflation is still too high, and those high prices are weighing on so many Americans." Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said interest rates should remain at levels that continue to exert pressure on the economy. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said monetary policy is "in a good place."
U.S. rate futures have priced in a 95.0% probability of no rate change at the January FOMC meeting. There is a 5.0% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut.
The U.S. and Taiwan reached a trade deal Thursday that would cut tariffs on goods from the island to 15%. The agreement would see Taiwanese semiconductor firms boost investment in U.S. operations by $500 billion.
Investors will focus on U.S. Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production data due later today. Economists expect Industrial Production to rise 0.1% month-over-month in December. Manufacturing Production is expected to drop 0.2%.
Market participants will also anticipate speeches from Boston Fed President Susan Collins, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, and Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson.
Notable companies including PNC Financial, State Street, and M&T Bank are slated to release quarterly results today. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, S&P 500 companies are expected to post an average 8.4% increase in quarterly earnings for the fourth quarter.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.18%, down 0.07%.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell 0.27% this morning. Mining stocks led declines after gold prices retreated. Defense stocks climbed amid concerns over President Trump's stance on Greenland. Healthcare stocks advanced, led by a more than 5% gain in Novo Nordisk after U.K. regulators approved a higher dose of its Wegovy drug.
Final data confirmed Friday that Germany's annual inflation rate eased to 1.8% in December. Italy's annual inflation rate picked up slightly to 1.2% last month.
Kloeckner & Co. SE jumped over 27% after Worthington Steel agreed to acquire the steel processor in a deal valued at about $2.4 billion.
Asian stock markets closed lower. China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.26%. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Index declined 0.32%.
China's securities regulator pledged Friday to "comprehensively" strengthen market monitoring and "resolutely" prevent sharp fluctuations. Exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing said they would raise the minimum margin requirement for new borrowings to 100% from 80%, effective January 19th.
Bloomberg reported that China is removing servers dedicated to high-frequency traders from local exchanges' data centers. Semiconductor stocks extended gains after TSMC's results.
The People's Bank of China announced Thursday cuts to certain sector-specific interest rates. The central bank signaled it has room to cut interest rates and banks' reserve requirements.
Japan's Nikkei 225 fell as investors locked in profits. Pharmaceutical and retail stocks led declines. The index posted a strong weekly gain amid reports Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may dissolve parliament this month and call a snap election in February.
Reuters reported Friday that some Bank of Japan officials see room to raise interest rates earlier than markets anticipate, with April viewed as a possibility. The yen slid to its weakest level against the dollar since July 2024 this week.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo would not rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. "I have repeatedly stated that we are prepared to take decisive action, including all available options," Katayama said.
Foreign investors purchased a net 1.14 trillion yen worth of Japanese stocks in the week ended January 10th, according to Ministry of Finance data. The Nikkei Volatility Index closed down 0.73% to 30.03.
Chip stocks moved higher in pre-market trading. Advanced Micro Devices rose over 2% and Marvell Technology gained more than 1%.
Honeywell International rose more than 1% after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $255.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services slid over 4% after reporting weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue. HP Inc. fell more than 2% after Barclays downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $18.