Tonight’s Highlights | US Stock Futures Rise, TSMC Earnings Drive Chip Stocks Higher

On Thursday (October 16), US stock index futures collectively rose in pre-market trading.  

 

As of this report, Dow Jones futures gained 0.34%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.51%, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.71%.

 

Earlier in the day, TSMC reported record-high Q3 net profit, boosting US AI chip stocks. TSMC and ASML rose over 2% pre-market, Micron Technology and Navitas Semiconductor surged over 3%, and Nvidia and Broadcom gained over 1%.  

 

Salesforce jumped over 6% pre-market, expecting accelerated revenue growth over the next 12-18 months; rare earth stock MP Materials continued to climb, up 3.6%, while Critical Metals soared over 15%; NIO fell nearly 7%.  

 

Chief Technical Strategist Adam Turnquist expressed concerns that the stock market is overly reliant on AI-driven trading for growth, as this rally is led by a few dominant companies, increasing concentration risks.  

 

Meanwhile, the US government shutdown has entered its third week, delaying the release of the weekly initial jobless claims report. With federal agencies indefinitely halting key economic data releases, traders are receiving significantly less information.  

 

Overnight, the Fed’s “Beige Book” showed that despite more firms reporting layoffs, US economic activity remained broadly stable in recent weeks. Fed Governor Stephen Milan stated that shifting trade dynamics make rate cuts more urgent.  

 

European markets in session were mixed, with Germany’s DAX up 0.06%, the UK’s FTSE 100 down 0.24%, and France’s CAC 40 up 1.01%. Shortly before this report, spot gold touched $4,250, hitting a new record high.

Company News

Oracle Unveils Next-Gen OCI Zettascale10 Cluster for AI  

 

At Oracle’s Global AI Conference, Oracle announced the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Zettascale10, a large-scale cloud AI supercomputer. It connects hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs across multiple data centers, forming a multi-gigawatt cluster with peak performance of 16 zettaFLOPS.

 

Salesforce Sets Long-Term Goal of Over $60 Billion in Revenue by FY2030  

 

On October 15, Salesforce announced a new long-term goal to achieve over $60 billion in revenue by FY2030, excluding Informatica’s business, implying a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) above 10% from FY2026 to FY2030.

 

Musk Says Starlink Now Active on United Airlines Flights  

 

United Airlines’ official X account posted that Starlink Wi-Fi has been installed on its first mainline aircraft. Musk reposted, stating: “Starlink is now active on United Airlines!”

 

US Mint: Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs to Be Featured on 2026 American Innovation $1 Coin  

 

On October 15, the US Mint unveiled designs for the 2026 “American Innovation” $1 coin series, launched in 2018 to honor significant US innovations and contributors through $1 commemorative coins. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs will be featured on one of the coins in next year’s program.

 

Nestlé to Cut 16,000 Jobs as New CEO Accelerates Reforms  

 

Nestlé plans to cut 16,000 jobs, with new CEO Philipp Navratil, weeks into his role, pushing for faster company transformation. On Thursday, Nestlé announced a ~6% workforce reduction over the next two years, raising its cost-saving target by 2027 from 2.5 billion CHF to 3 billion CHF ($3.7 billion).

 

Global Semiconductor Equipment Investment Hits $33.07 Billion in Q2, Up 24%  

 

SEMI data shows global semiconductor equipment market spending rose 24% YoY to $33.07 billion in Q2, up 3% QoQ. Growth was driven by demand for advanced logic processes and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), as well as increased shipments to Asia.

 

Morgan Stanley Raises Micron Target Price to $220  

 

Morgan Stanley upgraded Micron’s rating from “equal weight” to “overweight,” raising its target price from $160 to $220. The upgrade reflects sustained stronger-than-expected price increases in core DRAM products.