Tech Stocks May Lead Early Rebound On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Thursday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the weakness seen over the two previous sessions.

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.

The weakness on Wall Street may partly have reflected growing concerns about rising geopolitical tensions around the world.

President Donald Trump’s threats to take control of Greenland have made headlines recently, while traders are also keeping an eye on political unrest in Iran and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

A slump by shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) also weighed on the markets, as the financial services giant plunged by 4.6 percent.

Wells Fargo came under pressure after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but weaker than expected revenues.

Shares of Bank of America (BAC) also tumbled by 3.8 percent even though the company reported fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates.

Citigroup (C) also showed a significant move to the downside even though the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in October.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales grew by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.2 percent in October. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.4 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in the month of November.

Software stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index down by 2.4 percent to its lowest closing level in eight months.

Considerable weakness was also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.

Airline and retail stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while energy stocks saw significant strength.

Commodity, Currency Markets

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.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Thursday after technology and bank stocks led Wall Street’s major indexes into a second day of declines overnight.

Gold drifted lower ,while the dollar held gains ahead of the release of the weekly U.S. initial jobless claims report and speeches from various Federal Reserve officials later in the day.

Oil prices fell for the first time in six days, with Brent and WTI contracts both tumbling over 3 percent as U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to soften rhetoric against Iran.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.3 percent to 4,112.60 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.3 percent to 26,923.62 after the Trump administration imposed targeted tariffs on advanced AI chips while permitting restricted Nvidia exports to China.

Media reports also suggested that Chinese authorities have instructed domestic companies to halt the use of cybersecurity software from over a dozen U.S. and Israeli firms, citing national security concerns.

Japanese markets closed lower as investors rotated out of richly valued technology stocks. Advantest shares fell 2.5 percent and SoftBank Group gave up 4.9 percent.

The Nikkei 225 Index dropped 0.4 percent to 54,110.50, retreating after a powerful start to the year on speculation that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will call a snap election early in the parliamentary session starting later this month. The broader Topix Index settled 0.7 percent higher at 3,668.98.

Seoul stocks hit another record high as the Bank of Korea held the benchmark rate steady at 2.50 percent and hinted at an extended pause before any cuts.

The Kospi surged 1.6 percent to 4,797.55, marking the 10th consecutive day of gains since the beginning of the year and setting a new record closing high, with auto, chip and defense stocks pacing the gainers.

Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics rallied 2.6 percent to close at its highest level since January 7 of last year.

The South Korean weakened to around 1471 per dollar, reversing gains from the previous session after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent referred to excessive declines in the currency.

Australian markets rose for a fourth consecutive session to close at a two-month high. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.5 percent to 8,861.70, led by continued gains in the mining sector. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 0.4 percent to close at 9,184.20.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index fell 0.7 percent to 13,659.79 after the announcement of fresh U.S. curbs on Nvidia and AMD chips.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance during trading on Thursday, with corporate earnings and U.K. GDP data in focus. Investors also digested strong earnings from TSMC and monitored developments in Greenland and Iran.

On a light day on the economic front, official data showed the U.K. economy rebounded more than expected in November.

Gross domestic product logged monthly growth of 0.3 percent in November, reversing a 0.1 percent drop in October. Analysts had expected GDP to grow marginally by 0.1 percent.

Separate data revealed that the U.K. visible trade deficit narrowed to GBP 23.7 billion in November from GBP 24.2 billion in the previous month. However, the shortfall was bigger than forecast of GBP 20.3 billion.

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.

Alstom has risen. The French rail transport systems company has inked a contract of around EUR 500 million to supply 26 additional double-decker trains of the Coradia Max type to the Landesanstalt Schienenfahrzeuge Baden-Wurttemberg.

British storage giant Safestore Holdings has also moved to the upside after delivering strong operational growth for the year ended October 31,2025.

Schroders has also jumped. The money manager said it expects annual profits for 2025 to be ahead of market expectations.

Pub and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers has also advanced after reporting a 4.5 percent rise in like-for-like first-quarter sales.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML has also soared after TSMC, the world’s main producer of advanced AI chips, beat revenue and profit expectations for the fourth quarter.

Swedbank has also rallied after the U.S. Department of Justice released the company from a long-running investigation into its past anti-money laundering work.

On the other hand, homebuilder Taylor Wimpey has moved to the downside after warning of lower profit margins in 2026.

Dunelm Group shares have plummeted. Following slower second-quarter growth, the prominent player in the United Kingdom’s specialty retail sector has warned of full-year profit coming at the lower end of expectations.

Plumbing materials maker Geberit has also tumbled after reporting a 4.4 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales.

U.S. Economic News

First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly dipped in the week ended January 10th, the Labor Department revealed in a report released on Thursday.

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.

The report said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 205,000, a decrease of 6,500 from the previous week’s revised average 211,500.

With the drop, the four-week moving average fell to its lowest level since hitting 203,250 in the week ended January 20, 2024.

The Labor Department also released a report on Thursday showing an increase by U.S. import prices over the two months from September to November.

The report said import prices climbed by 0.4 percent over the two months from September to November after edging down by 0.1 percent in September.

The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics did not collect survey data for October due to the government shutdown.

The report also said export prices increased by 0.5 percent over the two months from September to November after coming in unchanged in September.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also released a report on Thursday showing a sharp increase by its reading on regional manufacturing activity in the month January.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity surged to a positive 12.6 in January from a negative 8.8 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to climb to a negative 3.5.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said most of the survey’s broad indicators for future activity declined but continued to suggest expectations for overall growth over the next six months.

New York manufacturing activity increased modestly in the month of January, according to a separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index jumped to a positive 7.7 in January from a negative 3.7 in December, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to climb to a positive 1.0.

Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms remained fairly optimistic about the outlook, although the future general business conditions index fell to 30.3 in January from 33.5 in December.

At 9:15 am ET, Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr is due to participate in a “Stablecoins” panel before the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Conference: Future of Finance Forum.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds at 11 am ET.

At 12:40 pm ET, Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin is due to speak at the Virginia Bankers Association/Virginia Chamber Financial Forecast.

Kansas City Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Schmid is scheduled to speak on monetary policy and the economic outlook before the Economic Club of Kansas City at 1:30 pm ET.