U.S. Stocks May See Early Strength On TSMC Earnings, Upbeat Economic Data

Stocks are likely to move to the upside in early trading on Thursday, extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. 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.

Tech stocks may help lead an early advance on Wall Street, as reflected by the 0.9 percent jump by the Nasdaq 100 futures.

The upward momentum for tech stocks comes after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) reported a sharp increase in third quarter profits.

The strong results from TSMC are likely to offset concerns about the outlook for semiconductor demand following a warning from Dutch chipmaker ASML (ASML) earlier in the week.

“The fate of the global stock market hinged on TSMC’s results and fortunately everything is fine in AI land,” says Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

Stocks may also benefit from the release of a batch of upbeat U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in September after edging up by 0.1 percent in August. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.3 percent.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.2 percent in August. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.1 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed an unexpected pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended October 12th.

The report said initial jobless claims fell to 241,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 260,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 260,000 from the 258,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Shortly before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of September.

Economists expect industrial production to dip by 0.2 percent in September following a 0.8 percent increase in August.

Stocks showed a lack of direction early in the session on Wednesday but moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day. With the upward move, the Dow more than offset the loss posted during Tuesday’s session, reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line in early trading but climbed more firmly into positive territory as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 337.28 points or 0.8 percent to 43,077.70, the Nasdaq rose 51.49 points or 0.3 percent to 18,367.08 and the S&P 500 climbed 27.21 points or 0.5 percent to 5,842.47.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has jumped by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.27 to $70.66 a barrel after slipping $0.19 to $70.39 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after rising $12.40 to $2,691.30 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $0.20 to $2,691.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.94 yen versus the 149.64 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0843 compared to yesterday’s $1.0862.

Business News