TAIPEI, Feb 7, 2026, 23:19 (GMT+8) — Market closed.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s American depositary receipts (TSM) surged 5.5% Friday, settling at $348.85 after swinging from $330.15 to $350.81. Back in Taipei, shares (2330.TW) finished the session 0.85% higher at NT$1,780—the day’s peak—with volume around 35 million shares. 1
The rebound is notable—AI stocks have looked shaky lately, with capital drifting out of software and cycling into the hardware that powers big models. Semiconductor names have surged roughly 65% since early 2025, by Reuters’ count, while software and services have slipped 8%. 2
Friday brought a calmer mood to Wall Street. The Dow pushed past 50,000 for the first time on record, while Nvidia rebounded sharply, gaining 7.9% after slipping earlier. “What’s driven it recently has been the broadening … other than just the tech, AI trade,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon Investment Services. 3
The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index jumped close to 6%, with Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, and Marvell among the gainers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC demand is “going through the roof,” as cloud companies ramp up spending. 4
Up next for TSMC: monthly January sales are set for release at 13:30 Taipei time on Feb. 10, according to its investor calendar. Investors watch this number closely—it’s an early pulse-check for foundry demand tied to both smartphones and AI servers. 5
Macro numbers haven’t lost their bite. Watch for the U.S. January jobs report, set to drop Feb. 11, followed two days later by January CPI—both arriving at 08:30 a.m. in Washington. These releases shape bets on Fed rate cuts and tend to jolt high-flyers in tech, especially chip stocks. 6
U.S. consumer sentiment reached its strongest level in six months to start February, according to the University of Michigan’s latest survey, but concerns about jobs and inflation haven’t gone away. “We may have seen the trough in consumer sentiment,” noted Oren Klachkin. Survey director Joanne Hsu found that households holding the most sizable stock portfolios enjoyed the sharpest improvement. 7
Last month, TSMC projected capital expenditures would reach $52 billion to $56 billion in 2026, money earmarked for factories and equipment. The chipmaker expects revenue that year to jump nearly 30% in U.S. dollars, crediting what it calls the “AI mega trend.” Ben Barringer, who leads technology research at Quilter Cheviot, put it bluntly: “While the likes of Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD fight it out for chip supremacy, TSMC ultimately benefits as the key manufacturer of all their chips”. 8
This week, TSMC indicated it’s ready to expand some of its most advanced chipmaking overseas. CEO C.C. Wei told reporters the company will start mass production of 3-nanometre chips in Japan, calling it a “foundation for Japan’s AI business.” Local outlets put the project’s price tag at $17 billion, though TSMC hasn’t confirmed the number. 9
But that’s a big if. Any hiccup in cloud spending, or fresh export restrictions sparked by geopolitics, could erase the stock’s advance in a hurry. Demand and capacity are still tugging in opposite directions.
Once trading picks up again next week, the focus turns to whether Friday’s chip rally has legs. After that, TSMC’s Feb. 10 sales update takes center stage, with U.S. jobs data on Feb. 11 and inflation figures on Feb. 13 following close behind. If those numbers come in weak, the stock could slip back into the kind of turbulence that unsettled the AI names earlier this week.
