US stocks opened higher on Thursday, recovering from consecutive losses as optimism around artificial intelligence was boosted by a strong outlook from chipmaker TSMC. The Nasdaq Composite led gains, rising about 0.9%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported a 35% jump in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday. The company, a major supplier to Nvidia and Apple, said it plans to increase investment to $56 billion in 2026. Shares in the Taiwanese company rose, lifting other chip-related stocks like ASML. Nvidia also recovered from Wednesday's decline.
This marked a shift from Wednesday, when technology stocks had pulled indexes lower. Investors also assessed earnings from major banks before the opening bell. Goldman Sachs reported profit that far exceeded expectations as dealmaking remained strong. BlackRock ended 2025 with a record $14 trillion in assets after its earnings beat estimates. An update on weekly jobless claims was also scheduled.
Elsewhere, oil prices on Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude each fell roughly 4% through Thursday morning. The drop followed signs the US is stepping back from a military response in Iran. President Trump said Wednesday he had been told authorities there will stop killing protesters.
Silver prices also declined, halting a rally that had pushed the metal's total market value above $5 trillion for the first time. The retreat came after Trump said the US will delay imposing import tariffs on critical minerals, a risk that had contributed to inventory buildup and supply constraints that boosted silver prices.