Asian chip stocks climbed Friday, lifting several regional markets even as broader Asia-Pacific trade remained mixed. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 1.48% after the company delivered another record quarter, saying it expects to boost capital spending in 2026 to between $52 billion and $56 billion. The Taiwan Weighted Index climbed 1.1%, making it the best-performing Asian market on Friday. Investors across the region were also watching chip-related stocks after the U.S. reached a trade deal with Taiwan. Under the agreement, Taiwanese semiconductor companies committed to invest at least $250 billion in U.S. production capacity in exchange for lower “reciprocal” tariffs.
The major averages climbed Thursday, rebounding from back-to-back losses as chip and bank stocks rallied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 292.81 points, or 0.60% to 49,442.44, boosted by gains in Goldman Sachs and Nvidia. The S&P 500 rose 0.26% to 6,944.47, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.25% to 23,530.02. The major averages ended the session off their highs. Earlier in the day, the Dow was higher by 431.55 points, or 0.88%. The S&P 500 rose 0.76%, and the Nasdaq had gained 1.06%. Chip plays led the market after Taiwan Semiconductor delivered another record quarter, saying it expects to boost capital spending in 2026 to between $52 billion and $56 billion — an outlook signalling confidence in the artificial intelligence buildout from the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
Gold prices slipped to around $4,600 per ounce on Friday, extending Thursday’s modest losses amid reduced safe-haven demand and fading expectations of a near-term interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Geopolitical risks in Iran temporarily eased after President Donald Trump indicated he may delay any military action, following Iran’s pledge not to execute protesters. Markets were further calmed by reports that Israel and other Middle Eastern allies urged the US to postpone any potential strike on Iran. Additionally, strong US economic data released on Thursday prompted investors to scale back bets on imminent interest rate cuts. Markets expect the Fed to keep rates unchanged later this month, with the next fully priced cut shifting from June to July.
WTI crude oil futures hovered around $59.2 per barrel on Friday after sliding more than 4% in the previous session as concerns over a potential US military strike on Iran eased. President Trump on Wednesday softened his earlier threats of military action in Iran, saying that he had been assured that no further killings would occur and that executions would not proceed. Reports on Thursday also suggested that Israel and several Middle Eastern allies had asked the US to delay any attack on Iran amid fears Iran would retaliate by striking their countries. These reduced the perceived risk of an immediate conflict that could disrupt Iranian oil production or critical shipping routes in the region.
India’s exports to China soared in December while shipments to the U.S. declined as President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs prompt New Delhi to focus on alternative markets. Exports to China surged 67% in December to $2 billion, in contrast to goods shipped to the U.S. — New Delhi’s biggest export market — that dropped 1.8% to $6.8 billion, according to government data released late Thursday. The U.S. has slapped 50% tariffs on New Delhi, among the highest on any country and even more than on China, upending both the trade and diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2026, India’s exports to mainland China have risen nearly 37%, while shipments to Hong Kong have jumped more than 25%.
The U.S. is securing about 30% higher prices for Venezuelan crude, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday, as the country has started selling oil from the Latin American nation after capturing its former President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at about $500 million, according to a U.S. Department of Energy spokesperson, with more expected in the days and weeks. “We’re getting about a 30% higher realized price when we sell the same barrel of oil than they sold the same barrel of oil three weeks ago,” Wright said at a U.S. Energy Association event, without specifying prices. U.S. special forces captured Maduro earlier this month during an operation that Washington said was aimed at restoring political stability. President Donald Trump said last week that Venezuela would hand over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil currently under U.S. sanctions, which would be sold at prevailing market prices.
Some Bank of Japan policymakers see scope to raise interest rates sooner than markets expect, with April a distinct possibility, as a sliding yen risks adding to already broadening inflationary pressure, four sources familiar with its thinking said. BOJ policymakers are facing the unenviable task of pushing up years of ultra-low borrowing costs even as rising global headwinds weigh on growth in an economy that has only recently started to shake off the effects of chronic deflation. Having just raised interest rates to a 30-year high of 0.75% in Dec., the central bank is set to keep borrowing costs steady at its two-day policy meeting ending on Jan. 23. But many BOJ policymakers see scope for further rate hikes with some not ruling out the chance of action in April, the sources said, which would be earlier than dominant private-sector views centred on monetary tightening occurring in the second half of this year.
The U.S. and Taiwan have reached a trade agreement to build chips and chip factories on American soil, the Department of Commerce announced Thursday. As part of the agreement, Taiwanese chip and technology companies will invest at least $250 billion in production capacity in the U.S., and the Taiwanese government will guarantee $250 billion in credit for these companies. In exchange, the U.S. will limit “reciprocal” tariffs on Taiwan to 15%, down from 20%, and commit to zero reciprocal tariffs on generic pharmaceuticals, their ingredients, aircraft components and some natural resources. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has bought land and could expand in Arizona as part of this deal, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in an interview Thursday.
Buoyed by yet another blockbuster earnings report and a new U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is poised to accelerate its multibillion-dollar expansion in Arizona. The world’s largest contract chipmaker has already committed $165 billion in the U.S., aligning with Washington’s push to rebuild its domestic chip manufacturing. But TSMC executives have signalled that spending will rise even further as the company expands capacity to meet demand for artificial intelligence chips. Speaking Thursday with CNBC’s Emily Tan, TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the firm would continue to ramp up its investments in Arizona. “We have strong conviction on the AI mega trend, and that is the reason we are stepping up the capital expenditures to expand in Taiwan and in the U.S.,” Huang said. ″Not just to expand, but also try to accelerate where it is possible to satisfy or narrow the gap.”
Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment have reached a new agreement that would bring films such as "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse" to the streaming giant’s customers worldwide after they play in cinemas, the companies said on Thursday. Under the multi-year agreement, Netflix will become the exclusive streaming destination of Sony Pictures’ films following their theatrical runs and video-on-demand releases for the first 18 months, after which they will go to Disney. The arrangement will roll out gradually starting later this year as rights in individual territories open up, with full availability worldwide expected in early 2029. Other early Sony Pictures titles that will stream on Netflix under this new deal include Nintendo’s live-action "The Legend of Zelda," "The Nightingale," starring Dakota and Elle Fanning, and Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes’ four films about The Beatles.
Rio Tinto said on Thursday it would supply copper that it leaches from an Arizona mine to Amazon.com for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence data centers. The move underscores the rampant push by the AI industry for access to supplies of copper and other critical minerals that are used to build wiring, cables, circuit boards and other electronic parts. AI sector growth is expected to boost global copper demand 50% by 2040, although analysts have warned supplies could fall far short, sparking a rush to ensure access. Under the two-year agreement, companies that build parts for Amazon Web Services will use copper produced by Rio’s Nuton leaching program from a mine owned by Gunnison Copper.
Ford is in discussions with BYD to purchase batteries for its hybrid models, according to reports on Thursday, at a time when the Detroit automaker deals with waning demand for electric vehicles. The two companies are still discussing how the arrangement would work, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. One option being considered is for Ford to use BYD batteries in markets outside the U.S., the report said. "We talk to lots of companies about many things," Ford said in a statement. BYD did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro criticized the idea following the report. "So Ford wants to simultaneously prop up a Chinese competitor’s supply chain and make it more vulnerable to that same supply chain extortion? What could go wrong here?" he wrote on social-media.