Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise as Micron eases AI fears, PCE hits 3-year high

Tech stocks jumped before the bell on Thursday as blowout Micron (MU) earnings helped boost sagging confidence in the AI trade and a fresh inflation report showed prices rising again in May.

Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) shot up 2.4%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) rose 0.8%, following several tough days for Wall Street stocks. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), which includes fewer tech names, edged up 0.3%.

Micron’s record-setting quarterly results relieved Wall Street jitters over lofty AI valuations and spending. Its shares rocketed more than 18% in premarket after the company’s sizeable earnings beat and stronger-than-expected outlook signaled healthy demand for its memory chips.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm (QCOM) announced a move beyond smartphones into data center products such as chips and servers, in a bid to cash in on the AI boom. Its stock rose over 12% after it set a target of $15 billion in related new revenue.

In another lift to spirits, oil prices fell back to levels not seen since the Iran war, down over 1% as supply flooded back through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures (BZ=F) dropped to less than $73 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) broke below $70.

Focus also shifted to the latest release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, which showed prices heated up again in May amid the Iran war shock. PCE rose 4.1% in May, in line with expectations, and 0.4% month over month, slightly below expectations.

That’s likely to keep the debate about an interest rate hike in play this year. The chance of interest rate hikes this year has weighed on stocks, after consumer and wholesale prices for May came in hotter than expected.