^{_{Welcome to the TraderTV Live Morning Research Note. Here's what's making major moves in the market today.}}

0945 - S&P manufacturing PMI for December: Expected 51.8; Prior 51.8

Baidu Inc (BIDU)

+11.42%

Gapping up after announcing plans to spin off its Kunlunxin (KLX) unit through a Hong Kong main-board IPO using a global offering structure. The listing would be a partial carve-out, with KLX remaining a Baidu subsidiary. Timing will depend on regulatory and exchange approvals.

Tesla Inc (TSLA)

+1.28%

The company’s December registrations in Europe fell sharply, with France down 66% year over year, Sweden down 71%, and Portugal down 12.7%. This data comes as traders and investors await the release of Tesla’s hotly-anticipated Q4 2025 deliveries data. Earlier this week, the company shared a compilation of analyst estimates that implied a larger-than-expected year-over-year deliveries decline for the quarter.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSM)

+2.72%

Trading higher premarket after receiving a one-year U.S. export license allowing it to import American chipmaking equipment into its China operations, as per a report from Reuters. This will allow for continued production at Taiwan Semi’s Nanjing fab without separate vendor approvals. The license follows the expiration of longstanding exemptions and reflects Washington’s shift to annual approvals while maintaining restrictions on China’s access to advanced semiconductor technology.

Gold and Silver

+2.96%

Precious metals plays remain on watch as gold and silver gap up once again following a pullback on Wednesday, with the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) closing more than 6% lower. Wednesday’s decline came as CME announced plans to raise margin requirements for silver for the second time in less than a week.

GLD, SLV

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL)

+1.12%

On watch after Korea Economic Daily reported that the company cut its 2026 TPU production target to about 3 million units from roughly 4 million after losing out to Nvidia in TSMC’s CoWoS advanced packaging capacity. The shortfall highlights Nvidia’s stronger access to advanced packaging as demand for AI accelerators intensifies.

Apple Inc (AAPL)

+0.50%

Raymond James resumed coverage of the stock with a Market Perform rating, arguing that the stock’s current valuation already reflects its strong fundamentals and limits near-term upside. The firm sees Apple’s large installed base and recent iPhone 17-driven gains as increasingly difficult to scale meaningfully, especially with shares trading above their five-year average valuation. Separately, the company is reportedly considering delaying the standard iPhone 18 until spring 2027 while launching the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and its first foldable model in fall 2026.

Chinese EVs

+1.97%

On watch after releasing deliveries for December and FY25. Xpeng reported the delivery of 37,508 vehicles in December 2025, up 2% year-over-year, while FY25 deliveries grew by 126%. Nio posted a 54.6% year-over-year increase in December deliveries, while 2025 deliveries increased by 46.9% to 326,028 vehicles. Li Auto, meanwhile, reported a 24.38% decline in December deliveries, with FY25 deliveries similarly decreasing on a year-over-year basis.

XPEV, NIO, LI

ASML Holding NV (ASML)

+4.93%

Gapping up after Aletheia Capital double-upgraded the stock to Buy from Sell and raised its price target to $1,500, citing sharply higher FY26–27 earnings driven by a new wave of capacity expansions. The firm expects stronger EUV demand from DRAM makers, resilient China DUV orders, and a potential surge in TSMC EUV installations that could push ASML’s sales growth well above consensus in 2026–27.

Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT)

+4.45%

Trading sharply higher premarket after Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its price target to $200. The analyst attributed the upgrade to higher EPS estimates and recent share-price volatility. Barclays expects Vertiv to catch up with other AI and data center beneficiaries in 2026, noting its valuation now looks comparable on a PEG basis.

Memory Stocks

+2.03%

Trading higher premarket after DigiTimes issued a note on the sector, which had a remarkable run in 2026. DigiTimes noted that the memory market will remain tight into 2026, with AI infrastructure spending driving demand growth that outpaces supply for both DRAM and NAND, especially from servers. Product mix shifts toward higher-margin HBM and newer DRAM are constraining legacy supply and pushing prices higher, while delayed NAND capacity additions and rising enterprise SSD demand are expected to extend shortages and price increases into 2026.

MU, SNDK, WDC, STX

Sable Offshore Corp (SOC)

+19.18%

Gapping up after Benchmark said that the company’s Santa Ynez Unit is closer to restarting after the Ninth Circuit denied environmental groups’ emergency stay of federal approvals issued in late December. While the legal challenge continues on an expedited schedule with briefs due through early March, the ruling removes a near-term obstacle to resuming operations.

ChowChow Cloud International Holdings (CHOW)

+50.02%

Gapping up after announcing unaudited financial results for H1 2025. Revenue grew by 81.3% year-over-year, with cost of revenues growing by 81.9%. ChowChow has a market capitalization of $21.34 million and a float of 10.64 million, roughly 4.6% of which is sold short.