Semiconductor Stocks May Lead Early Advance On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the upward move seen over the two previous sessions.

Semiconductor stocks may continue to lead the markets higher after turning in some of the best performances during Tuesday’s session.

U.S.-listed shares of ASML (ASML) are surging 5 percent in pre-market trading after the Dutch semiconductor equipment giant reported strong fourth quarter results and provided upbeat 2026 guidance.

South Korea’s SK Hynix also spiked in overseas trading after the memory chip maker reported better than expected fourth quarter results and a record full-year profit for 2025.

The sector may also benefit from a report from Reuters indicating China has given three of its largest tech companies the green light to buy Nvidia’s (NVDA) H200 artificial intelligence chips. Shares of Nvidia are jumping by 1.6 percent in pre-market trading.

Citing four people familiar with the matter, Reuters said Alibaba (BABA), ByteDance and Tencent have been approved to purchase more than 400,000 H200 chips in total.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement this afternoon.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but the votes by specific officials and the accompanying statement could impact the outlook for rates.

Tech giants Microsoft (MSFT), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) are also among the companies due to report their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.

Following the upward move seen to start the week, the major U.S. stock indexes moved in starkly opposite directions during trading on Tuesday. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 saw further upside, the narrower Dow showed a notable pullback.

The Nasdaq jumped 215.74 points or 0.9 percent to a nearly three-month closing high of 23,817.10, and the S&P 500 climbed 28.37 points or 0.4 percent to a record closing high of 6,978.60.

Meanwhile, the Dow ended the day off its worst levels of the session but still closed down 408.99 points or 0.8 percent at 49,003.41.

The strength in the broader markets came as traders remain optimistic ahead of the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META).

Shares of Microsoft surged by 2.2 percent and shares of Apple jumped by 1.1 percent, while shares of Meta edged slightly higher.

Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like General Motors (GM) and UPS (UPS).

On the other hand, a slump by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) weighed on the Dow, with the health insurance giant plunging by 19.6 percent.

The steep drop by UnitedHealth came after the company reported slightly better than expected fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing revenue guidance.

A Trump administration proposal calling for nearly flat rates for Medicare Advantage insurers also weighed on insurance stocks.

In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report unexpectedly showing a significant deterioration in consumer confidence in the month of January.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index plummeted to 84.5 in January from an upwardly revised 94.2 in December.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 90.0 from the 89.1 originally reported for the previous month.

With the steep drop, the consumer confidence index tumbled to its lowest level since hitting 82.2 in May of 2014.

Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.4 percent to a new record closing high.

Computer hardware and networking stocks also saw significant strength, contributing to the advance by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.

Outside of the tech sector, oil service stocks moved sharply higher along with the price of crude oil, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.0 percent.

On the other hand, healthcare, airline and housing stocks came under considerable selling pressure over the course of the session.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are jumping $0.62 to $63.01 a barrel after surging $1.76 to $62.39 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $5,277.70, up $195.10 compared to the previous session’s close of $5,082.60. On Tuesday, gold crept up $0.10.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 152.65 yen compared to the 152.19 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1967 compared to yesterday’s $1.2041.

Asia

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision and earnings from mega-cap tech companies.

The dollar sank to levels last seen four years ago after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not concerned about the weakening.

Gold broke through $5,250 an ounce for the first time as U.S.-Iran tensions escalated and a partial U.S. government shutdown loomed over an immigration dispute.

After deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group in West Asia, Trump said there’s “another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran.”

The U.S. announced a multi-day military exercise in the Middle East to bolster its military presence in the region. Iranian officials issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for live-fire military activity in the airspace along the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices were steady in Asian trading following a dramatic 3 percent surge on Tuesday, the sharpest daily increase in months, after a winter storm disrupted U.S. crude output and exports.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 4,151.24 as a firmer PBOC fixing lifted the offshore yuan to a 32-month high.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 2.6 percent to 27,826.91 after China Vanke secured a 2.36-billion-yuan (US$339.3 million) loan from Shenzhen Metro Group, its largest shareholder, to repay bond principal and interest.

Japanese markets ended little changed as the Bank of Japan’s December minutes showed board members supported further rate hikes if the outlook for growth and prices holds.

The Nikkei 225 Index finished marginally higher at 53,358.71, while the broader Topix Index fell 0.8 percent to 3,535.49. Tech shares and AI-linked names gained ground, offsetting the drag from a stronger yen.

SoftBank Group Corp shares surged 3.7 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks to invest up to $30 billion more in OpenAI.

Seoul stocks hit a new peak after U.S. President Trump said his administration will “work something out” with Seoul over a trade deal. The Kospi surged 1.7 percent to 5,170.81, led by strong gains in chipmakers and battery stocks.

Chip giant Samsung Electronics climbed 1.8 percent and SK Hynix jumped 5.1 percent ahead of their fourth-quarter earnings due later this week.

Australian markets ended on a subdued note, snapping a three-day rally after inflation came in at 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, its highest level in six quarters, fueling bets the Reserve Bank will lift rates as early as next week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index finished marginally lower at 8,933.90 while the broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.2 percent lower at 9,250.60.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index closed down 0.7 percent at 13,412.87, reversing gains from the previous session.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly lower on Wednesday after two days of gains. A cautious undertone prevailed ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision and earnings from major tech companies.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s dollar comments also reflected a lack of confidence in the U.S. economy.

The dollar tested four-year lows and headed for its biggest weekly fall since last April after Trump’s suggestion that he was happy with the currency’s recent decline.

The French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.5 percent, while the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent.

Despite the weakness in the broader markets, semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding has surged after orders in the fourth quarter far exceeded analysts’ expectations.

German chemicals maker Wacker Chemie has also moved sharply higher after launching a €300 million cost-cutting plan.

British pet care retailer Pets At Home has also shown a strong move to the upside after reaffirming its full-year profit outlook.

Meanwhile, Dutch telecommunications group KPN has moved notably lower after it forecast year-on-year service revenue growth of 2 -2.5 percent for 2026.

U.S. Economic News

The Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended January 23rd at 10:30 am ET.

At 2 pm ET, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest monetary policy decision followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference at 2:30 pm ET.