Stocks Halt AI-Fueled Rout Before Micron’s Results: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stocks halted a slide driven by concerns over whether the unprecedented spending on artificial-intelligence will be justified, with traders gearing up for Micron Technology Inc.’s earnings report. Oil fell.
About 350 shares in the S&P 500 advanced. Micron wavered as the chipmaker’s results are expected to provide the clearest test yet of whether demand for AI infrastructure remains strong enough to sustain this year’s rally. As the appetite for risk improved, the meme-stock crowd is rallying behind a beaten-up American icon — Wendy’s Co. — whose shares jumped nearly 40%.
Also helping sentiment was a retreat in energy prices, which helped ease concerns over inflationary pressures on the eve of a key price report for the Federal Reserve. Brent oil sank below $75 for the first time since the Iran war began as more tankers openly cross the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury yields fell.
The rebound in equities came after a tech rout that had engulfed global stocks as worries about frothy valuations ignited a fresh bout of volatility after a nearly three-month surge in riskier assets.
“When stocks rise too much and too fast, a pullback almost always ensues,” said Rick Gardner at RGA Investments. “We would much rather be buying tech stocks on days when they are down, and the pullback can present an opportunity for investors who do not have adequate exposure to this space, which is still fundamentally strong.”
Corporate Highlights:
SK Hynix Inc. is seeking 45.45 trillion won ($29.4 billion) in a US listing, tapping investor demand for high-flying memory-chip stocks even after a major selloff shook the group this week. Cerebras Systems Inc. gave a sales forecast that disappointed investors who were expecting the company to carve out a bigger slice of the AI data center market. Online spending across all retailers in the US hit $8.3 billion on the first day of Amazon.com Inc.’s annual Prime Day sale, according to Adobe Inc., beating the firm’s earlier estimate of $7.9 billion. FedEx Corp. reported profit that beat expectations as the courier navigated tumultuous trade policies and rising costs that have buffeted the package-delivery business. Still, its profit margin for the past quarter declined to 8.4%, below analysts’ expectations. Nike Inc. is hiring David Denton as the sportswear company’s next chief financial officer, luring away an executive poised to leave his role at Pfizer Inc. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% as of 9:41 a.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 was little changed The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% The MSCI World Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3% The euro fell 0.4% to $1.1339 The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3159 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 161.72 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1.1% to $61,686.14 Ether fell 0.6% to $1,652.22 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined eight basis points to 4.42% Germany’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 2.87% Britain’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 4.69% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.4% to $70 a barrel Spot gold fell 2.8% to $4,003.72 an ounce ©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
