US stock futures kicked off a new month mixed as Micron’s (MU) earnings lifted the mood on tech stocks, while investors kept an eye on the bond market.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell into the red, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) climbed 0.2%. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) gained 0.4%.
Stocks closed out the third quarter and the historically weak month of September on Wednesday. The Dow posted losses for both periods as US bond yields saw their biggest move since September 2022, while the Nasdaq rose.
The markets’ momentum has flagged, as AI-driven tech stocks power through uncertainty, while the rest of the market remains encumbered by persistently high Treasury yields and oil prices (CL=F, BZ=F). Nvidia (NVDA) stock rose 5% in September; AMD (AMD) gained 30%.
A report on layoff plans from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, scheduled for release on Thursday morning, joins the ranks of a series of labor market data reports this week that set the tone for Friday’s monthly jobs report. Investors will also get a read on manufacturing activity.
Nike (NKE) reports earnings after the bell, offering a look at how its turnaround efforts are going, but it will take a lot to change Wall Street’s sentiment on the stock, which is trading at its lowest levels since 2014.
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Micron’s ‘impressive’ earnings show data center demand remains strong
The memory giant beat Wall Street analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines, and raised its Q1 outlook. During the quarter, Micron reported earnings per share of $33.42 on revenue of $54.23 billion, versus estimates of $31.83 EPS and revenue of $51.49 billion.
“The expectations were already very high, so the fact that they can still exceed them even at this level is incredibly impressive,” D.A. Davidson Head of Technology Research Gil Luria told Yahoo Finance.
“It tells you that there’s a lot of demand for memory and the supply isn’t going up anytime before the end of next year or before the latter part of next year, and that sets up Micron very well,” Luria added, “and it’s a good indication for the whole data center build-out ecosystem that demand clearly is still very strong.”
Layoffs are down, but employers aren’t rushing to hire for the holidays
Layoff plans fell in September to the lowest levels for the month since 2022. But companies don’t appear to be rushing to add staff.
US employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September, a 20% drop from September 2025, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Through September of this year, layoff announcements are down sharply compared to last year, dropping 39% overall and 15% excluding government workers.
Technology companies continued to be responsible for the bulk of the latest layoffs, announcing 10,799 cuts in September. Nearly a third of all announced job cuts came from tech companies, leading all other sectors.
Economic data: Challenger job cuts, year-on-year, September (-38.5% previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Sept. 26 (197,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Sept. 19 (1.719 million previously); S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, September final reading (57 previously); ISM manufacturing, September (55 expected, 54.6 previously); ISM prices paid, September (72 expected, 71.1 previously); ISM new orders, September (53.7 previously); ISM employment, September (51.2 previously); Construction spending, month-on-month, August (+0.1% expected, -0.5% previously); Omdia total vehicle sales, September (16.59 million expected, 16.76 million previously)
‘AI or bust:’ Tech trade powered stocks through volatile September
Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith recaps how markets performed in September:
Wall Street fared better than expected in September, given the month’s historical reputation as the worst month for stocks. It largely comes down to, you guessed it, the artificial intelligence trade.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) declined by 0.4% for the month as Treasury yields surged. It’s down 1.9% from its record high set in August. September has historically been the weakest month forthe S&P 500, with an average decline of 0.6% since 1950.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell by about 4.3%, while the small-cap-focused Russell 2000 (^RUT) dropped by 5.4%.
“It’s AI or bust,” Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick said, pointing to the divergence in stock performance for the major market indexes.
