Intel's stock price soared, leading the semiconductor sector to strengthen before the market opened.

In pre-market trading on Thursday, semiconductor company stocks generally rose. Earlier, Nvidia agreed to invest $5 billion in Intel and said the two companies will jointly develop chips for personal computers and data centers. Intel's stock price soared 33%, while Nvidia rose 2.7%. VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 2.8%. Applied Materials rose 4.8%.