U.S. stock storage chip giants surge in pre-market trading, HP drops over 5%, precious metals and oil rally collectively, silver rises over 4%

U.S. three major stock index futures rose slightly. As of 21:12, Nasdaq futures increased by 0.42%, S&P 500 futures rose by 0.32%, and Dow futures gained 0.29%.

Nvidia edged up 0.34% in pre-market trading. On the news front, the company will release its Q4 FY2025 earnings after the market closes on February 25, with a conference call scheduled for 6:00 AM Beijing time on February 26.

Oracle rose 3% in pre-market trading after Oppenheimer upgraded its rating to “Outperform” with a target price of $185. TSMC continued yesterday’s rally, up 1.07% in pre-market trading. According to Cailian Press, Apple will purchase over 100 million advanced chips produced by TSMC in 2026.

Most stocks in the U.S. chip and memory sector rose, with Western Digital up 3%, Seagate Technology up 2.76%, Micron Technology up 1.53%, and SanDisk up 0.7%.

U.S. lithium mining stocks surged in pre-market trading, with Sigma Lithium up over 8%. According to Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Mines announced an immediate halt to all ore and lithium concentrate exports (including in-transit goods) to strengthen mineral regulation and accountability.

Hewlett-Packard’s stock fell 5.79% in pre-market trading after the company forecasted a double-digit decline in PC shipments in 2026.

European stocks mostly rose, with Germany’s DAX up 0.28%, the UK’s FTSE 100 up 0.93%, France’s CAC up 0.38%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.69%.

In commodities, precious metals surged. Spot gold rose over 1% to $5,183.85 per ounce, and spot silver jumped over 4% to $90.638 per ounce.

Oil prices also increased, with Brent crude up 1.02% at $71.303 per barrel, and WTI crude up 0.90% at $66.223 per barrel.

According to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump delivered the State of the Union address to Congress on the 24th, threatening Iran and stating that the U.S. will never allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Trump said, “We are negotiating with them (Iran). They want to reach an agreement, but we haven’t heard the key phrase: ‘We will never have nuclear weapons.’” Trump expressed a preference for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through diplomacy and stated, “No one should doubt America’s resolve. We have the strongest military on Earth.”

According to CCTV News, Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi said Iran hopes to reach a just and fair agreement soon. Araghchi emphasized Iran’s firm stance: Iran will never develop nuclear weapons under any circumstances and will never give up its right to peaceful nuclear technology. Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mousavi said on the 24th that Iran’s past approach was to prevent escalation and reduce casualties, but the U.S. has forced Iran to change its strategy. If the U.S. makes any mistake this time, Iran will inflict significant casualties on its enemies.

Xinhua News Agency also reported that President Trump’s State of the Union speech lasted 108 minutes, setting a record; he claimed to have secured $18 trillion in global financial commitments. U.S. tariffs will remain in effect according to other legal provisions.

According to Cailian Press, traders have reduced their expectations for a Fed rate cut, with a 50% chance of a 25 basis point cut in June.

JPMorgan Chase forecasts gold will reach $6,300 per ounce by the end of 2026.