U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Upside In Early Trading

Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Thursday, regaining ground following the weakness seen in the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.5 percent.

Technology stocks are poised to lead the rebound on Wall Street, as reflected by the 1.0 percent surge by the Nasdaq 100 futures.

The upward momentum for tech stocks partly reflects a positive reaction to earnings news from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor are jumping by more than 5 percent in pre-market trading after the world’s largest contract chipmaker reported a sharp increase in fourth quarter profits.

“After last week’s revenue update it was an open secret that TSMC would be reporting a record quarter but the details are still striking,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Not least the levels of capital expenditure TSMC is committing to, suggesting it is fully confident the AI boom has legs,” he added. “This is underlined by the company’s guidance for 30% growth in 2026.”

In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped in the week ended January 10th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 198,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 207,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 215,000 from the 208,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Following the modest pullback seen during Tuesday’s session, stocks saw further downside during the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages regained some ground after an early tumble but still all ended the day in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, slumping 238.12 points or 1.0 percent to 23,471.75. The S&P 500 also fell 37.14 points or 0.5 percent to 6,926.60, while the Dow edged down 42.36 points or 0.1 percent to 49,149.63.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped by 1.6 percent.

The major European markets are also mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are plunging $2.63 to $59.39 a barrel after jumping $0.87 to $62.02 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after climbing $36.60 to $4,635.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $39.90 to $4,595.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.75 yen versus the 158.43 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1604 compared to yesterday’s $1.1642.