5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens

Stock futures are pointing to a higher open Thursday amid a chip stock rally, while investors also digest a new slate of earnings from major banks; Oil futures are sliding as tensions around Iran’s recent protests look to be easing; TSMC shares are surging after the chipmaking giant reported strong quarterly results; Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs results handily topped Wall Street expectations; and Nvidia is getting closer to selling H200 chips to China with White House approval. Here’s what you need to know today.

Stocks Point Higher With Semiconductor Rally Leading Gains

Stock futures are higher as chip stocks lead an early-morning rally following a strong earnings report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM). Futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 0.9% recently, while S&P 500 futures added 0.4% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures hovered near unchanged. The major indexes finished lower for a second straight day on Wednesday as bank stocks retreated following earnings from several major financial institutions. Crude oil futures have dropped below $60 per barrel as tensions with Iran that boosted the commodity in recent days look to have eased. Gold futures were down 0.3% at $4,620 an ounce, after hitting a record high on Wednesday. Bitcoin, which hit its highest level in two months yesterday, was down slightly from those levels, trading at $96,800. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, ticked up to 4.15%.

Oil Futures Slip as Iran Tensions Ease Amid Deadly Protests

Crude oil futures are tumbling Thursday morning after President Trump said that Iranian officials have told him the killing of protestors has stopped. Recent protests against the government in Iran have resulted in an estimated 2,500 or more deaths, creating uncertainty around the country’s stability and therefore the stability of its oil industry. Trump had said previously that the U.S. military could get involved if the protests continued to be met with a violent response from the Iranian government. Crude oil futures surged to a three-month high on Wednesday, but WTI futures, the U.S. benchmark, were down 4% at $59.55 per barrel this morning.

TSMC Leads Chip Stocks Higher After Reporting Strong Earnings

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) are surging after the dominant chipmaker topped estimates in its latest quarterly report. For the fourth quarter, TSMC said it generated 1.05 trillion New Taiwan Dollars ($33.73 billion) in revenue, up 25% year-over-year, while profits surged 35% to $3.15 per American Depositary Receipt. Each metric came in higher than the analyst consensus, per estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The contract manufacturer has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom, making advanced chips for many of the industry’s heavyweights including Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). TSMC’s U.S.-listed shares, which closed at a record high on Monday, were up 6% in recent premarket trading, while Nvidia and AMD added 1% and 2%, respectively. Shares of ASML (ASML), which makes equipment used by TSMC and other chipmakers to manufacture the semiconductors, were up more than 7% ahead of the opening bell.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Blackrock Beat Earnings Expectations

The heavy flow of earnings reports from major financial institutions continued this morning, with Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and asset management giant BlackRock (BLK) all releasing fourth-quarterly results. BlackRock reported first, with revenue, adjusted earnings per share, and total assets under management each coming in higher than analysts had forecast. Results from Goldman and Morgan Stanley also handily topped Wall Street expectations. Bank stocks have had a rough week. They sank Monday on a proposal from President Trump to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, and remained under pressure after a string of mixed reports from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC). BlackRock shares were up about 2% in recent premarket trading, while Morgan Stanley fell slightly and Goldman dropped 2%.

Nvidia Chip Sales to Chinese Customers Will Have White House Support

Nvidia moved a step closer to being able to sell its H200 chips to customers in China again this week, as the Department of Commerce updated its rules for semiconductor exports and Trump said his administration would support the sales. Last month, Trump said Nvidia would be allowed to sell the H200 chips, less advanced than Nvidia’s Blackwell and new Vera Rubin chips, to China with the U.S. government receiving a 25% cut of the revenue. The Commerce Department said it would shift from rejecting exports of the chips to a case-by-case review. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that demand has been strong from Chinese customers, but the Chinese government has previously told companies in the country not to buy less advanced Nvidia chips over concerns of the U.S. government’s involvement in the process. Nvidia shares were up about 1% recently.