a The TSMC logo and passing by the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, April 15,
Ann Wang | Reuters
Thursday offered markets a rare respite from the relentless geopolitical turmoil. However, the week’s headlines still showed greater global dynamics.
Case in point: Taiwan’s $250 billion investment in U.S. chip manufacturing is not only a commercial move for the companies involved, but also part of a broader trade deal with Washington. It would see the US reduce tariffs on Taiwanese imports from 20% to 15% and eliminate them altogether on other products such as generic pharmaceuticals and aircraft components.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has already bought land and can expand in Arizona as part of this transactionCommerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC’s Brian Sullivan in an interview Thursday.
The world’s leading chipmaker also announced windfall on Thursday posted a 35% jump in fourth-quarter profit, giving it eight consecutive quarters of annual profit growth. TSMC also said it will increase its expected capital spending for 2026, indicating that demand for artificial intelligence will remain strong this year.
This wave of optimism helped push stock markets higher. such as semiconductor and AI-related stocks Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Applied materials such as European chipmaking equipment manufacturers, and advanced in the US ASML and ASM Internationalalso rose.
Better-than-expected earnings from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley boosted performance in US markets.
Oil prices fell After US President Donald Trump said he could stop attacking Iran, easing the main source of near-term risk.
But the tension lies elsewhere. Several NATO countries have announced that they have deployed troops to Greenland as part of joint exercises aimed at strengthening Arctic security. The moves follow a tense transatlantic debate over US proposals to take over Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory – a proposal that has not reassured European partners and raised fundamental questions about the union.
— CNBC’s Keef Lesswing contributed to this report.
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Energy markets have been volatile in recent days as investors gauged Washington’s response to the crackdown on civil unrest in oil-rich Iran.
However, Ed Bell, acting chief economist and head of research at Emirates NBD, one of the UAE’s largest lenders, told CNBC’s “Access Middle East” on Thursday that while markets are watching the situation closely, there is little change in practice.
— Chloe Taylor and Sam Meredith