Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Futures are trading sharply higher this Thursday, fueled by a massive rally in the tech sector and investor relief over official inflation data.
Pre-market optimism gained traction after corporate earnings crushed Wall Street estimates, while the macroeconomic landscape offered signs of monetary stability and cooling commodity prices.
During pre-market trading, Nasdaq 100 futures surged an impressive 2.3%, leading gains in New York. S&P 500 futures rose 0.8%, while the Dow Jones posted a more modest advance, climbing 143 points (0.3%).
In-Line PCE Brings Monetary Relief
The day’s primary economic indicator, May’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metric—rose 0.4% for the month, coming in slightly below the 0.5% ceiling projected by economists. Over the past 12 months, the PCE recorded a 4.1% increase. Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year, landing exactly in line with consensus projections. Although underlying inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target—justifying keeping interest rates at their current range of 3.50% to 3.75% per year—the market breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that recent geopolitical shocks have not triggered an uncontrolled inflationary spiral. The 10-year Treasury yield ticked slightly higher by 1 basis point to 4.414%.
Oil Erases War Gains, Plummeting Over 1%
In the commodities market, the tone was one of sharp decompression. Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 1.4%, trading at $72.68 per barrel, erasing the risk premiums accumulated since the onset of hostilities in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) followed the same downward trend, dropping 1.4% to $69.35. The significant decline comes after the United States and Iran brokered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, releasing more than 20 oil tankers carrying approximately 35 million barrels of crude oil that had been held in the Persian Gulf for over three months. Citi analysts project that, as flows normalize, Brent should fall into the $60 to $65 range in the coming months. However, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy issued a warning that traffic will only be tolerated along routes strictly designated by Tehran, keeping geopolitical risks firmly on the radar.
Top Corporate Moves on Wall Street Top Gainers
- Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU): Shares of the chipmaker skyrocketed nearly 18% after reporting adjusted earnings of $25.11 per share (versus $20.78 expected) and seeing its annualized revenue quadruple to $41.46 billion. The company recorded a historic gross margin of 84.9%, outperforming giants like Meta and Nvidia, and is on track to open at an all-time high.
- Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM): Surged 9.8% on the back of semiconductor optimism and after nearly doubling its 2029 revenue projection for non-smartphone segments, targeting $40 billion.
- Memory and Chip Sector: Driven by these results, Western Digital and SanDisk jumped more than 13% and 15%, respectively. Lam Research rose over 7%.
- Bio-Techne (NASDAQ:TECH): Shares surged 19.3% following confirmation of its acquisition by pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE:MRK) for $73 per share.
- Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN): Rose more than 11%, compounding a roughly 32% gain for the week, driven by strong appetite from retail investors.
Top Losers:
- Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI): Fell over 3% after presenting a mixed fiscal fourth-quarter report and issuing full-year sales and earnings guidance below FactSet estimates.
- Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN): Dipped slightly by 0.5% in pre-market trading. Despite announcing an additional $13 billion mega-investment in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure (AWS) in India through 2030, initial investor reaction was cautious regarding the scale of the capital expenditures.
Corporate & Finance:
- JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM): Shares rose 0.2% after the bank named Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh as new co-presidents and heads of the financial institution’s largest divisions. The announcement is part of Jamie Dimon’s succession planning and marks the retirement of executive Marianne Lake.