Midday Fly By: TSMC reports Q4 beat, Goldman Sachs raises dividend

The major averages were broadly higher near noon, rebounding from back-to-back days of losses as optimism around a strong outlook from TSMC bolsters technology sentiment and lifts semiconductor and AI-related shares. Additionally, bank stocks rose after the latest spate of quarterly earnings, with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs on the rise.

Looking to commodities, gold was edging lower following massive recent gains for the asset. Meanwhile, oil prices were falling to trade below $60 per barrel.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• TSMC (TSM) reported better-than-expected Q4 results and provided upbeat guidance for Q1 and 2026
• Goldman Sachs (GS) reported mixed Q4 results and increased its quarterly dividend
• Morgan Stanley (MS) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue
• Boston Scientific (BSX) agreed to acquire Penumbra (PEN) for $374 per share in cash and stock
• Mission Produce (AVO) agreed to acquire Calavo Growers (CVGW) for $27 per share in cash and stock

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• RBC Capital initiated coverage of Nvidia (NVDA) with an Outperform rating and $240 price target
• DraftKings (DKNG) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo
• Applied Materials (AMAT) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
• Morgan Stanley upgraded KLA Corp. (KLAC) to Overweight, sees more focus on logic
• KeyBanc downgraded Rocket Lab (RKLB) with growth catalysts well known

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• A National Transportation Safety Board report said a UPS (UPS) cargo plane crash in Louisville that killed 15 may have been linked to cracks in a left-engine assembly that Boeing (BA) had previously concluded would not affect flight safety, despite similar fractures occurring on other aircraft, NY Times says
• Apple (AAPL) and Qualcomm (QCOM) are scrambling to secure glass cloth fiber, used in chip substrates and PCBs, amid a surge in demand from AI companies like Nvidia (NVDA), Nikkei Asia reports
• Caterpillar (CAT) briefly hit a $300B market cap for the first time this week, driven by demand for its data center power generation equipment, Bloomberg says
• Amazon (AMZN) is challenging Saks Global Enterprises’ bid to fund its bankruptcy with financing that would provide the retailer with fresh cash, saying it would harm Amazon and other unsecured creditors, Bloomberg reports
• Chevron (CVX) is poised to receive an expanded Venezuela license from the U.S. government this week that could allow for increased production and exports, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Coherent (COHR) higher after launching the Sapphire XT laser platform
• BRC Group (RILY) increases after reporting quarterly results
• Fluence (FLNC) gains after announcing it will supply its Gridstack Pro solution for the Pioneer Clean Energy Center
• Ocugen (OCGN) lower after reporting preliminary data from its Phase 2 ArMaDa study
• MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) falls in New York after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Sell

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• BlackRock (BLK) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Quantum Corp. (QMCO) raised its guidance for Q3
• Matson (MATX) provided guidance for Q4
• Home BancShares (HOMB) reported Q4 results, with Chairman John Allison commenting, “HOMB delivered a record $475.4 million in annual income, driven by strong fourth-quarter”
• Bank7 (BSVN) reported Q4 results, with EPS beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.75%, or 370.15, to 49,519.78, the Nasdaq was up 0.99%, or 232.93, to 23,704.68, and the S&P 500 was up 0.71%, or 49.42, to 6,976.02.