8 Key Items Shaping the Stock Market on Tuesday

These are the early headlines and other items poised to influence the market at the start of the trading day. As we share this collection of market drivers, U.S. equity futures across the board point to a mixed market open later on Tuesday morning, but we will want to revisit those figures after this morning’s rash of economic data.

1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s January sales grew at their fastest clip in months, a sign of sustained global AI spending even as concerns persist about an industry bubble. The contract chipmaker for Nvidia Corp. reported a 37% rise in January revenue to NT$401.3 billion ($12.7 billion), above the 30% revenue growth TSMC expects for the full year. The year-ago comparison, however, may have been affected by the Lunar New Year holidays, which in 2025 fell in January. (Bloomberg)

As you know, we closely track this monthly report from (TSM) as a barometer of overall chip demand, but especially that for AI and data center. While the article points out the 37% year-over-year increase, we would note the far stronger than usual 20% sequential increase compared to December. Balancing that with recent comments about the smartphone, PC, and other markets, we can deduce that the strength was AI and data center related, a nice confirmation point for our holdings in Nvidia (NVDA) , Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell (MRVL) .

2. Credo expects to report third quarter fiscal year 2026 revenue in the range of $404 million to $408 million, above the high-end of Credo’s previously announced third quarter guidance range of $335 million and $345 million. Looking towards the end of fiscal year 2026 and into fiscal 2027, Credo expects sequential revenue growth in the mid-single digits, leading to more than 200% year-over-year growth in the current fiscal year. (Credo Technology)

We’re mentioning this for two reasons. First, we have exposure to Credo (CRDO) in our EPS Diplomats basket, and it has been a bit all over the place lately. Second, the company’s business is centered on connectivity solutions, and it is benefiting from increasing data infrastructure demands. In other words, "networking solutions," and that makes its revenue guidance supportive of the continued rebound in that part of the market, bringing more support for our shares of Marvell, Broadcom, Arista Networks (ANET) , and, to a lesser extent, Nvidia.

3. Alphabet has sold bonds worth $20 billion in a seven-part offering, tapping the debt market to fund its surging spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The disclosure on Tuesday underscored Big Tech's growing appetite for credit, in a shift away from years of relying on strong cash flows to fund investment in new technologies. Their capital expenditure is expected to total at least $630 billion this year, with most of spending focused on data-centers and the AI chips that power them. Last week, Alphabet said it would spend as much as $185 billion this year. The seven tranches of Alphabet's notes mature every few years, starting in 2029, and go all the way up to 2066. (Reuters)

The market has been wondering how (GOOGL) and other hyperscalers will play for the big step up in capital spending plans, and we are starting to get some answers. Before we jump to any conclusions, Google generated almost $168 billion in operating cash flow last year, and closed 2025 with $126.8 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet versus $46.5 billion in long-term debt.

4. Utility firm Duke Energy forecast a higher current-year profit on Tuesday on the back of strong power demand. The rapid buildout of AI data centers and accelerating power consumption across homes and businesses were set to drive U.S. demand to record highs in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The utility firm was also considering adding large nuclear reactors to its fleet and extending the life of some coal plants as part of a long-term energy plan aimed at meeting sharply rising electricity demand in the Carolinas. (Reuters)

The above speaks to the energy pain point theme that has kept up shareholders of Eaton (ETN) . Duke’s capital plan of $103 billion is a sizable one, and we expect to see more of the same as other public electric utilities report their quarterly results. Dominion Energy (D) will report on February 23 and given its exposure to data centers across its footprint, that report will be a must-watch one for us.

5. The House on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan, comprehensive housing package aimed at ameliorating the affordability crisis in the U.S. and increasing homeownership… The bill includes more than 20 provisions that would direct the Government Accountability Office to study gaps in federal housing programs and modernize the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, among other actions… The bill now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers will likely make changes to the legislation. (The Hill)

With some housing-related plays in the Bullpen, we will track this closely, especially since President Trump has been looking for a way to jumpstart that part of the economy. The question is whether it will be more form over substance, a criticism that is landing on his TrumpRX program. If passed, the question will be what homebuilders are involved and which companies are poised to deliver the materials.

6. BP said it was halting stock buybacks as the oil and gas giant said it wanted to rebuild its balance sheet. The London-based energy group said Tuesday it was trying to reduce net debt by as much as $18 billion by the end of 2027. BP’s planned capital expenditure of between $13 billion and $13.5 billion came in below the $13.85 billion that analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected. (MarketWatch)

During Monday's Office Hours, we were asked if we are eyeing any oil plays, and we replied, saying that given the potential de-escalation between the U.S. and Iran, and the potential influx of oil from Venezuela, we are likely to sit on the sidelines. While some of BP’s issue is company specific, it is grappling with weaker oil prices and the prospect of that to continue.

7. Economic data on Tuesday per TipRanks: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (January), ADP Employment Change Report (Weekly), Employment Cost Index (Q4 2025), Import/Export Prices (December), Retail Sales (December), Business Inventories ( November), Factory Orders (November).

8. Companies reporting today per TipRanks: BP (BP) , Coca-Cola (KO) , Datadog (DDOG) , Duke Energy (DUK) , DuPont (DD) , Ferrari (RACE) , Hasbro (HAS) , Marriott (MAR) , Masco (MAS) , Quest Diagnostics (DGX) , Cloudflare (NET) , Ford Motor (F) , James Hardie (JHX), Lyft (LYFT) , Robinhood (HOOD) , Welltower ( (WELL) ).

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At the time of publication, TheStreet Pro Portfolio was long NVDA, AVGO, MRVL, ANET, GOOGL and WELL.