Global markets opened with a cautious optimism on Thursday as US equity futures ticked higher, yet energy markets delivered a reminder of volatility: a severe winter storm driving US natural gas futures sharply upward and complicating the outlook for inflation and industrial costs.
The Nasdaq 100 futures led gains, up about 0.9%, while S&P 500 and Dow futures rose roughly 0.6% and 0.3% respectively as investors reacted to easing geopolitical tensions following a pause in US–European frictions over Greenland. At the same time, NYMEX natural gas, already up nearly 29% on Wednesday, rose another 8% on Thursday as a blast of arctic weather swept across key consumption regions in the United States, pushing near-term heating demand and straining storage expectations.
Oil prices softened after US Energy Secretary Chris Wright urged a significant increase in global oil production, a comment that contrasted with other supply-side warnings and underlined policy friction within energy discourse. The gas spike and mixed signals on oil highlight a bifurcated energy picture: immediate weather-driven demand shocks on one side and broader debates about supply strategy and long-term investment on the other.
Adding a headline-grabbing element to markets, Elon Musk will make a surprise appearance at the World Economic Forum and is scheduled to speak at 23:30 Beijing time. His last-minute attendance arrives after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s Davos appearance sparked fresh appetite for AI-related equities, and traders are watching for any signals on Musk’s stance toward AI regulation, chip supply, or SpaceX and Tesla priorities.
Semiconductor and cloud-related names occupy the crosshairs. Intel, which has rallied 47% year-to-date, will report after the US close amid market chatter that Intel and AMD have largely sold out server-CPU supply for 2026; both chipmakers are reportedly considering price increases. Meanwhile, Japan’s Kioxia surged after warning that NAND shortages driven by AI investment could last through 2027, reinforcing a backdrop of constrained memory supply that could keep hardware costs elevated.
Corporate and capital-markets news added texture to the session: Alibaba is preparing to restructure its AI accelerator arm Pingtouge and explore an IPO; BitGo, a crypto custodian, is slated to list in New York tonight at $18 a share; Ubisoft plunged over 30% after an abrupt restructuring and large impairment; and Canadian fusion company General Fusion agreed a SPAC deal valuing the business around $1 billion as it seeks funds for a mid-2030s commercial fusion target.
Other developments signal creeping commercialization of emergent tech: Lemonade is offering Tesla drivers with Full Self-Driving enabled a headline 50% insurance discount, reflecting insurers’ growing willingness to price novel driver-assistance technologies differently. SpaceX filed with US regulators projecting a second-generation Starlink service that could arrive in 2027, a timeline that underscores continued capital intensity and regulatory engagement for satellite broadband expansion.
For investors and policymakers, the current mix is instructive. Short-term weather shocks can quickly overwhelm more gradual structural trends, rattling commodity and related equity markets even as AI-driven narratives dominate headlines. The combination of chip supply tightness, episodic energy price jumps and high-profile appearances at Davos creates a market environment where headlines and fundamentals interact in real time, amplifying volatility and policy scrutiny.