AMD futures traded slightly higher in pre-market action today, reflecting investor optimism ahead of upcoming earnings. Recent sector strength in semiconductor stocks, supported by rising AI chip demand, continues to provide a bullish bias. Traders are closely watching the $165 resistance level. The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock dropped 3% on the news that its key rivals, Nvidia and Intel, announced a major strategic collaboration, creating a formidable competitor in the chip space. The surprise deal saw Nvidia invest $5 billion in Intel, and the two semiconductor giants teamed up to jointly develop new chips for both AI data centers and personal computers. This partnership directly challenged AMD's position in those critical markets. The collaboration aimed to fuse Intel's x86 CPUs with Nvidia's powerful RTX graphics chiplets. This move appeared to worry investors because it threatened to weaken a key advantage AMD held. The new alliance between two of its biggest rivals presented a significant competitive threat, raising concerns about AMD's future market share. In the after-hours market, Snap (SNAP) shares plunged over 16% after the companyâs revenue fell just shy of expectations . Also, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) dropped about 4% as its adjusted EPS missed estimates . However, Arista Networks (ANET) surged more than 14% following a much better-than-expected report . Futures on AMD gained momentum after sector-wide upgrades by major Wall Street firms. The relative strength index remains in mid-range territory, suggesting room for upside continuation without extreme overbought conditions.