Wall Street ticks higher ahead of the opening bell as more companies report earnings

Gold prices continued to surge past record highs.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services soared more than 12% overnight after the freight company breezed past Wall Street's profit targets in the third quarter. The company credited its cost-cutting measures for an 8% increase in operating income.

Salesforce rose about 6% in premarket trading after the cloud-based software company upped its long-term annual revenue target to $60 billion by 2030. In its most recent complete fiscal year, the owner of Slack pulled in close to $38 billion in revenue.

Taiwan’s leading computer chipmaker, TSMC, reported that its net profit surged nearly 40% to $15 billion in the last quarter, boosted by demand for artificial intelligence. Its shares rose about 2% on the New York Stock Exchange early Thursday.

TSMC — which has been building chip fabrication plants in the U.S. and Japan to help hedge against risks from China-U.S. trade tensions — is a major supplier to companies such as Apple and Nvidia.

Most chipmakers rose modestly ahead of Thursday's opening bell.

Companies are under pressure to deliver strong profits after their stock prices broadly surged 35% from a low in April. To justify those gains, which critics say made their stock prices too expensive, companies will need to show they’re making much more in profit and will continue to do so.

Profit reports are under more scrutiny than usual as investors seek insights into the health of the American economy. The U.S. government’s latest shutdown is delaying important updates on the economy, such as a report on inflation that was due Wednesday.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.3% higher to 48,277.74 as investor sentiment was lifted by a strong start to the earnings season and expectations of U.S. rate cuts.

Japan’s core machinery orders, excluding ships and electric power, fell 0.9% month-on-month in August, missing market expectations for a 0.4% gain. But they marked improved from a 4.6% drop in July, according to data released Thursday.

South Korea's Kospi surged to a record high, adding 2.5% to 3,748.37 on buying of tech and auto stocks that was spurred by hopes for a trade deal with U.S. Samsung Electronics and automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. were among the big gainers.

In Chinese markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.1% to 25,888.51, while the Shanghai Composite index added 0.1% to 3,916.23.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 closed nearly 0.9% higher at 9,068.40, breaching the 9,000 level for the first time amid gains in gold stocks. Miners in resource-rich Australia are benefiting from a run-up in gold prices. Early Thursday, the precious metal was up 1.4% at $4,262 per ounce.

India's BSE Sensex added 0.8%, while Taiwan's Taiex advanced 1.4%.

At midday in Europe, France’s CAC 40 jumped 0.9%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2%. Germany’s DAX was unchanged.