Stock futures rose Thursday on the back of strong economic data, easing lingering fears of a potential recession, while getting a boost from semiconductor names. Dow futures rose 94 points, or 0.2%. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose around 0.6% and 1.1%, respectively. Chip stocks led the gains, reversing some of their recent losses after shares of Taiwan Semiconductor rose 8%. The company, a major supplier for Nvidia and other chip manufacturers, reported strong third-quarter results and raised its revenue forecast for the last three months of the year. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia followed Taiwan Semiconductor higher, rising 3% in the premarket. AMD also jumped more than 2%. New data on the economy also boosted stocks. September’s retail sales figures showed that consumer spending was still robust, with monthly spending increased by 0.4%, while Dow Jones consensus estimate called for 0.3%. Sales excluding autos shot up by 0.5%, much hotter than the 0.1% forecast. Jobless claims for the week ended Oct. 12 were also lower than expected. The data come after a winning day on Wall Street, as the Dow outperformed to close at an all-time high following the release of strong quarterly results. U.S. Treasury yields advanced on Thursday after the latest economic data signaled strength in the economy. The 10-year Treasury yield added more than 5 basis points to 4.071%. The 2-year Treasury yield climbed more than 5 basis points to 3.993%. Most Asia-Pacific markets fell Thursday after China’s housing ministry briefing failed to impress investors, and sent the country’s property stocks plummeting. The CSI 300 real estate index — which had gained over 5% on Wednesday — fell nearly 8%, while the benchmark CSI 300 declined 1.13% to 3,788.22. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.3% at 20,030 as of its final hour of trade following a number of policy announcements from its chief executive on Wednesday. The Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index dropped 6.6%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.69% to close at 38,911.19, while the broad-based Topix was down 0.11% to end at 2,687.83 after investors assessed trade data out of Japan. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.86% to end trading at 8,355.9. South Korea’s Kospi ended marginally lower at 2,609.30, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.1% to 765.79. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported earnings on Thursday after Taiwan markets closed. Taiex gained 0.19% to end the day at 23,053.84. Crude oil futures rose slightly Thursday after a four-day losing streak as fears of a supply disruption in the Middle East eased and a surplus looms over the market next year. Although Israel has held back from retaliating against Iran so far, the situation “could change at a moment’s notice,” said Aditya Saraswat, Middle East research director at Rystad Energy. “In a widespread regional war scenario, Iran and Israel’s conflict could severely impact gas exports and lead to delays in oil development projects,” Saraswat said in a note Thursday. West Texas Intermediate November contract: $70.40 per barrel, up 1 cent, or 0.01%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has fallen down nearly 2%. Brent December contract: $74.24 per barrel, up 2 cents, or 0.03%. Year to date, the global benchmark has declined more than 3%. Gold prices charged to an all-time high on Thursday as expectations of more U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts and uncertainty over the U.S. presidential election boosted demand for bullion. Spot gold last rose 0.24% to $2,679.50 per ounce, after hitting a record high of $2,685.60. U.S. gold futures gained 0.15% to $2,695.80.