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Futures up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 500 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.65%

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Major US chipmakers gain after upbeat TSMC results

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Salesforce ( CRM ) rises after strong revenue forecast

(Updates before markets open)

By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 16 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on

Thursday, boosted by a strong quarterly update from TSMC that

reinforced investor optimism around AI and extended a rally in

chip stocks.

TSMC, the world's biggest producer of advanced

chips, raised its full-year revenue forecast on a bullish

outlook for spending on artificial intelligence.

U.S.-listed shares of the company, which also posted

a record profit that blew past market estimates, rose 2.5%

premarket.

Shares of some major U.S. chipmakers also advanced, building

on gains from Wednesday when ASML's solid quarterly

results and a $40 billion data center deal by BlackRock and a

Nvidia ( NVDA )-backed group fueled optimism around AI.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1.5%, Micron Technology ( MU ) added

3.8% and Broadcom ( AVGO ) gained 1.6%.

"AI, the demand and the euphoria around it has been

fueled by the mega cap and the hyperscaler spending for it,"

said Joe Mazzola, head trading & derivative strategist at

Charles Schwab ( SCHW ).

"Now we're in kind of that second season ... where

investors are maybe moving away just from investing in the chip

makers and the hyperscalers and looking for some adjacent

plays."

The AI-driven momentum and optimism around U.S. rate cuts

have helped markets in recent months. AI-related tech stocks

were among the biggest boosts to markets this week.

Robust earnings from major U.S. banks also grabbed attention

this week, offering fresh signs of economic resilience at a time

when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an

ongoing government shutdown.

The S&P 500 banking index registered its first

three-day winning streak in more than three weeks on Wednesday

as the country's six biggest lenders exceeded Wall Street

expectations for third-quarter profit this week.

At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 112 points, or

0.24%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 28.75 points, or 0.43%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 162.25 points, or 0.65%.

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the recent

escalation of China-U.S. trade tensions.

China accused the U.S. of stoking panic over its rare earth

controls and said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had made

"grossly distorted" remarks about a top Chinese trade

negotiator, rejecting a White House call to roll back the curbs.

Top U.S. officials on Wednesday blasted China's major

expansion of rare earth export controls as a threat to global

supply chains, stressing that Washington did not want to

escalate the conflict.

President Donald Trump's threat to cancel the U.S.-China

meet and impose an additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods

capped investors' risk appetite last week.

Bessent emphasized that Trump is ready to meet Chinese

President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.

A slate of Fed officials are set to speak throughout the

day.

Data showed the Philadelphia Fed Business index for October

declined 12.8, compared with a rise of 8.5 estimated by the

economists polled by Reuters.

Among other moves, Salesforce ( CRM ) rose 6.5% as the

company said it expects revenue of more than $60 billion in

2030, above Wall Street estimates.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) slumped 8.2% after

it forecast annual profit and revenue below Wall Street

expectations.

Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) rose 2.9% after the brokerage firm's

third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates.