Investing.com -- S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures contracts inched slightly higher on Thursday, with markets looking ahead to retail sales data and a slew of corporate earnings announcements. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's third-quarter profit tops expectations, as the world's largest contract chipmaker says demand for its artificial intelligence-linked products is "extremely robust". Elsewhere, Chinese stocks dip following a tepid reaction to a government briefing unveiling fresh support for the country's housing market.
1. Futures muted
US stock futures were muted on Thursday as investors awaited new economic data and a raft of corporate returns.
By 03:33 ET (07:33 GMT), the Dow futures contract was mostly unchanged, S&P 500 futures had gained 6 points or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had added 70 points or 0.3%.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average notched its third record close in four sessions on Wednesday, while the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also gained.
Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) surged by 6.5% to end at an all-time peak after the lender reported solid profits fueled by improved investment banking revenue. Larger regional banks climbed as well.
Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 index and S&P Small Cap 600 both logged their highest finishing levels since 2021, in a sign that some investors may be rotating out of pricier tech names and into less expensive segments.
2. TSMC profit surges amid strong AI demand
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TW:2340) -- the world’s biggest contract chipmaker -- posted a stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday, as sustained demand from the artificial intelligence industry bolstered its top-line returns.
The group also provided an upbeat outlook for the current quarter, partly citing improved capacity utilization. "We continue to observe extremely robust AI-related demand from our customers," CEO C.C. Wei added in a post-earnings webcast.
TSMC clocked a net profit of T$325.26 billion ($10.1 billion) in the three months to September 30, it said in a press release. The figure was higher than a Reuters estimate of T$300.2 billion.
Thursday's earnings come just days after semiconductor equipment maker ASML (AS:ASML) (NASDAQ:AS:ASML) posted a weak sales outlook for 2025, citing slow chip demand from sectors outside AI.
3. Retail sales ahead
Investors will have the chance to parse through fresh US retail sales data on Thursday that could provide more insight into the state of the economy as the Federal Reserve embarks on a potential cycle of interest rate cuts.
US retail sales are tipped to have risen by 0.3% in September, accelerating from 0.1% in the prior month, according to economists' estimates of the Commerce Department data.
In August, the month-on-month figure, which includes mostly goods and is not adjusted for inflation, unexpectedly ticked higher, while the July reading was also revised higher.
Indications of resilience in consumer spending could bode well for the Fed's hopes of engineering a so-called "soft landing", in which a period of elevated inflation is quelled without sparking a broader downturn in activity. The central bank slashed rates by an outsized 50 basis points at its latest meeting last month and traders are betting policymakers could introduce further reductions at its final two gatherings of 2024.
4. Chinese stocks edge lower as property briefing underwhelms
China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 and Shanghai Composite averages both slipped on Thursday after a briefing on more support for the country's ailing property market underwhelmed.
China’s housing ministry said it will roll out increased aid for the real estate market, including a bigger whitelist of property developers with easy access to government funding.
It was the latest in a series of high-profile announcements from the Chinese government, which began in late September, as Beijing pushes to provide enough support for the economy to hit its annual growth target.
5. Meta cuts jobs at WhatsApp, Instagram - The Verge
Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) has begun laying off employees in several departments, most notably WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, The Verge reported on Wednesday, while some employees also said they had been axed.
The cuts appeared to be part of an internal reorganization of teams, and not a company-wide headcount reduction, the report said, after Meta eliminated over 20,000 roles in the past two years.
Some Meta employees also posted on social media regarding the headcount reductions.
The latest round of job cuts come after Meta cut some roles in its Reality Labs division earlier this year. That was preceded by cuts of over 10,000 roles in 2023 and about 11,000 roles in 2022, as the company dialed down its post-COVID growth prospects.