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%.
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