US pre-open: Tech stocks expected to drive S&P 500 to new record

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures were pointing higher on Friday with the S&P 500 tipped to set a new record, as tech stocks are continuing to benefit from strong results from chipmaker giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Economic data will also be sparse on Friday, but December's existing-home sales and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for January are scheduled for release, both of which are expected to show little to no change on the month before.

As of 0555 ET, futures on the S&P 500 were up 0.39% at 4,830, above the index's all-time closing high of 4,796.56 reached in January 2022.

The Dow is expected to open 0.2% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is showing gains of 0.7% ahead of the opening bell, after Taiwan Semiconductor smashed analysts' forecasts in its fourth quarter and guided to a return to sales growth in the first quarter of 2024.

The outlook, which included a forecast of more than 20% revenue growth for the full year, is expected to drive buying in the US-listed tech sector, with both AMD and Nvidia rising strongly in pre-market trade.

"With all the concern around whether Nvidia has overrun on unrealistic expectations, the continued growth in demand does serve to highlight the fact that we actually have no idea how big this market could become as AI grows in importance," said analyst Joshua Mahony from Scope Markets.

Super Micro Computer was also rising ahead of the bell after pointing to second-quarter adjusted EPS of $5.40-.55, well above previous guidance of $4.40-4.88, due to "a strong market and end customer demand for our rack-scale, AI and Total IT Solution".

However, not all tech stocks were in favour. Roomba maker iRobot saw futures drop 37%, following a 14% slide on Thursday, on reports that European regulators were likely to block Amazon's 2022 deal to buy the company for $1.7bn.