US stock futures steadied on Wednesday after a second bruising day for techs, with Wall Street looking to Micron’s (MU) earnings later for a health check on AI demand.
Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) futures rose 0.6%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) edged up 0.3%, following steep losses for the indexes on Tuesday as AI-focused names took a hit. Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), which includes fewer tech stocks, traded broadly flat.
Worries about lofty valuations and massive spending, alongside fears of coming interest-rate hikes, have prompted a wave of profit-taking in high-flying AI-linked stocks.
Micron’s earnings are due after the bell on Wednesday, and the results will be closely watched as Wall Street assesses just how much faith to put in AI. Its shares have been on a tear this year, rising more than 250%, but they sank 13% on Tuesday amid the tech rout.
Late Tuesday, Cerebras (CBRS) posted its first earnings report since going public in May. Shares of the AI chipmaker dropped over 10% in premarket after it forecast profit margins would lag those from rivals such as Nvidia (NVDA).
Meanwhile, uncertainty persists over US-Iran talks and where key issues might ultimately land. While President Trump had pledged the Strait of Hormuz would remain free of tolls, Iran and Oman have started discussing a system to charge fees for ships to cross the key supply-flow waterway.
FedEx (FDX) cited rising transportation costs and the impacts of shifting trade policy for shrinking operating margins in its after-hours earnings report. Shares in the delivery company, seen as a bellwether for the broader economy, slid before the bell.
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Bessent: Inflation will come down as AI stands to double productivity
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke at the Economic Club of New York last night, giving a wide-ranging speech on everything from housing to artificial intelligence.
He noted that he expects inflation to start coming down and that artificial intelligence will at least double productivity.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends the press conference of President Trump during the final day of the 2026 G7 Summit in France on June 17, 2026. (Getty Images) ·MARCO GONCALVES via Getty Images
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:
“Now that we are on the other side of this [Iran] conflict, gas prices will come back down, inflation will come back to target,” Bessent said.
Bessent urged allowing the negotiations with Iran to play out. He argued that Iran still sold its oil to China when the Strait of Hormuz was closed and that it’s better that Tehran is getting a rate of $75 today than 80% of $115 a few weeks ago.
“This is a very conditional performance-based negotiation, and we are offering them carrots, and then there are sticks,” Bessent said of negotiations with Iran.
The “Magnificent Seven” plus Broadcom (AVGO) and Oracle (ORCL) have lost roughly $2.7 trillion in market value in June, according to Yahoo Finance analysis, as investors take a harder look at the companies funding the AI build-out.
Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre lays it out in today’s Chart of the Day.
Initially, this month’s reset focused on the Magnificent Seven. Now the pressure captures Broadcom and Oracle — two names closely tied to the AI infrastructure build-out.
The reset cuts across both sides of the AI complex.
Yahoo Finance analysis of AlphaSpace data
Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom are tied to the hardware boom. Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Oracle are tied to the spending boom. Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) remain part of the megacap growth trade investors have treated as an AI-adjacent proxy.
The market is putting a price on the cost of the build-out.
SK Hynix seeks $29 billion with new US listing to fund AI boom
Bloomberg reports:
SK Hynix Inc. (000660.KS) is looking to raise 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) by selling depositary receipts on the Nasdaq exchange.
The company expects trading to start on July 10, according to a statement on Wednesday.
SK Hynix controlled 57% of the global market share by revenue in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data from Counterpoint Research. The firm, however, trades at a discount to both Micron (MU) and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF).
The insatiable demand for memory chips has fueled breakneck rallies in these stocks, with SK Hynix stock listed in Seoul climbing more than 300% this year.
… A US listing would give the company access to a fresh pool of investors and could help SK Hynix narrow a gap in its valuation compared with its competitors.
Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) on June 29, replacing Verizon Communications (VZ) in a move aimed at better reflecting growing areas of the US economy.
Alphabet’s inclusion will “broaden and strengthen the DJIA’s exposure” to areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, healthcare technology, and digital advertising said the S&P Dow Jones Indices statement.
The release noted that Alphabet’s “larger market capitalization and share price, together with the breadth of its businesses,” make it a stronger representative of the Communication Services (XLC) sector.
Because the Dow is weighted by stock price, Verizon’s lower-priced shares contribute relatively little to the index’s performance. Verizon shares are up roughly 14% year-to-date.
Gold sinks under $4100 after market drop sparks liquidity selloff
Bloomberg reports:
Gold (GC=F) extended a decline, as a tech-led selloff on Wall Street prompted investors to cut bullion holdings to cover losses elsewhere in their portfolios.
Spot gold dropped below $4,100 an ounce, after giving up 1.7% in the previous session for its lowest close in two weeks. Treasuries rallied on Tuesday and a gauge of the dollar rose 0.4%, making gold that’s priced in the US currency more expensive for most buyers.
While gold is known as a haven investment, it often falls during big cross-market selloffs as it functions as a source of liquidity. Stocks in Asia were poised to extend losses on Wednesday on concerns that the AI-driven equity rally has run too far.
The tech slump has heaped further pressure on gold, which is already weighed down by concern that lingering inflation risks mean the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates. The hawkish tone adopted by new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has jolted investors and offset the positive impact from an interim US-Iran peace deal signed last week. Higher borrowing costs are a headwind for non-yielding precious metals.
