Nasdaq to gain as chip stocks recover

A recovery in chip stocks soothed market nerves as results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. spurred gains across major stock gauges. 

Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7% on Thursday, led by an advance in chip stocks after TSMC posted a better-than-projected 54% rise in quarterly earnings. That helped reverse the impact of ASML Holding NV’s lowered 2025 guidance, which halted a rally that had pushed US-traded shares to a three-month high. The Stoxx 600 index gained 0.5%.  

“TSMC earnings were clearly a positive and that has allayed some of the worries around the chip sector after that dismal report from ASML,” said Michael Brown, strategist at Pepperstone Group Ltd. “The outlook for risk remains very positive particularly as central banks across both developed markets continue to remove policy restriction at a pretty rapid pace.” 

The European Central Bank’s policy decision is due later, where it’s expected to cut its benchmark rate by another quarter-point to 3.25%. 

Traders are also turning their focus to the next batch of earnings. Tech bellwether Netflix Inc. is set to report third-quarter earnings after the close amid some concern its breakneck rally may be running out of steam.

Treasury 10-year yields climbed two basis points to 4.04%, while the Bloomberg dollar index was little changed. 

Gold climbed to a record ahead of US retail sales and jobless figures, and as the increasingly tight presidential race drives demand for haven assets. Oil steadied after four days of declines, as traders weighed potential risks to production in the Middle East.

Iron ore tumbled to a three-week low following China’s latest moves to shore up the property market, underscoring skepticism they will be enough to boost construction activity and steel demand. 

Key events this week:

• ECB rate decision, Thursday
• US retail sales, jobless claims, industrial production, Thursday
• Fed’s Austan Goolsbee speaks, Thursday
• China GDP, Friday
• US housing starts, Friday
• Fed’s Christopher Waller, Neel Kashkari speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.4% as of 5:41 a.m. New York time
• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.7%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%
• The MSCI World Index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.0863
• The British pound was little changed at $1.2991
• The Japanese yen was unchanged at 149.64 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.5% to $67,304.57
• Ether was little changed at $2,617.74

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.04%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.21%
• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.08%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.3% to $70.61 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.3% to $2,680.59 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.