U.S. stock futures jumped early Wednesday as a tech rally led by memory chipmaker Micron continued and oil prices fell on hopes for an Iran truce. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite touched new records in the prior session.
S&P 500 futures were 0.3% higher, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 227points, or 0.45%. Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.49% higher.
Micron Technology was higher by more than 5% in premarket trading, adding to an epic run which saw the shares surge 19% on Tuesday to top $1 trillion in market capitalization for the first time. Investors have shifted to memory chip makers as their favorite way to play the AI bull market. Micron’s South Korean peer hit a $1 trillion market value as well overnight. Micron, whose shares have more than tripled this year, was boosted Tuesday after UBS said the stock could more than double from here.
WTI crude prices retreated in early trading, down 4% to around $90 a barrel.
During Tuesday’s session, a rally in the technology sector drove both the broad market index and tech-heavy Nasdaq to fresh intraday and closing highs. The S&P 500 added 0.61%, while the Nasdaq popped 1.19%. On the other hand, the blue-chip Dow shed 118.02 points, or 0.23%.
Investors were also encouraged by messages from President Donald Trump indicating that talks with Iran to end the war were “proceeding nicely.” While the U.S. conducted “self defense” strikes in southern Iran early Tuesday, Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said that the U.S. used “restraint during the ongoing ceasefire” between the two nations.
Hopes of easing tensions, alongside a strong earnings season, have propelled stocks to numerous new record highs this year. But Drew Pettit, U.S. equity strategist at Citi, doesn’t see much more room for stocks to run from here.
“You got yields higher, like 4.50% on the [U.S. 10-year Treasury] , and you have inflation expectations higher in a curve that’s actually gotten flatter throughout the year. All of that doesn’t set you up for a higher sustainable multiple at this point,” he said on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Tuesday afternoon.
Pettit’s 7,700 year-end target for the S&P 500 implies a modest increase of just 2% for the index.
Bank of Montreal, Bath & Body Works, Capri, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Manchester United and Abercrombie & Fitch will report earnings before Wednesday’s opening bell.
European stocks edge higher as automakers lead gains
European stocks advanced into positive territory on Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 rising 0.3% and major bourses in Frankfurt, Milan and Paris all higher, while the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was in the red by 9:10 a.m. in London (4:10 a.m.).
Most regional sectors were higher, with autos the standout performer, rising 2.4%, boosted by a 5.1% year-on-year rise in new car registrations in the European Union, according to ACEA data.
Renault jumped 4.4%, with Stellantis up 3.9%, as Volkswagen advanced 2.3%. Mercedes-Benz gained 2.5% and BMW added 1.4%.
— Hugh Leask
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed as investors weigh Iran tensions and ceasefire talks
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed on Wednesday as investors assessed recent U.S. military action in Iran, the fragile state of the Washington-Tehran ceasefire and optimism that a deal could still be reached.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed flat at 64,999.41, giving up gains after hitting a fresh record high, while the Topix declined 0.52%.
South Korea’s Kospi closed 2.52% higher at 8,228.7, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 3.36% to 1,133.13. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 2.68% after unionized workers at the company in South Korea approved a provisional wage agreement, averting a potential strike that could have disrupted global semiconductor supply chains.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.69%, closing at 8,717.7.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.03% in the final hour of trading, while the mainland CSI 300 was down 0.79% at 4,908.53.
— Lee Ying Shan
SK Hynix hits $1 trillion valuation as AI boom lifts South Korean chip stocks
Shares of SK Hynix jumped as much as 11% on Wednesday, lifting the South Korean chipmaker’s market capitalization above $1 trillion as investors continued to pile into artificial intelligence-linked semiconductor stocks.
The rally extended a blistering run that has seen SK Hynix shares skyrocket about 250% since the start of the year, fueled by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI servers and accelerators.
The company has emerged as a key supplier to AI chip giant Nvidia, cementing its position at the center of the global AI supply chain.
Read the full story here.
— Lee Ying Shan
Shares of Samsung jump 7% after unionized workers approve pay deal
Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 7% after unionized workers at the company in South Korea approved a provisional wage agreement.
Of the 62,616 workers who voted, 73.7% were in favor of the deal involving bonus payouts at the hugely profitable chipmaker.
The approval comes after a tentative agreement was reached on May 20, averting a planned 18-day strike that could have disrupted global semiconductor supply chains.
— Lee Ying Shan, Lim Hui Jie
Japan, South Korea stocks hit fresh records as markets weigh Iran tensions and ceasefire talks
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday, with Japan and South Korea’s benchmark indices hitting new highs as investors assessed recent U.S. military action in Iran, the fragile state of the Washington-Tehran ceasefire and optimism that a deal could still be reached.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.49% to a fresh record high, while the Topix added 0.57%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 4.84%, while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.68%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.13%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was flat, while the mainland CSI 300 added 0.27%.
—Lee Ying Shan
Melius Research hikes Dell price target to $380 ahead of first-quarter earnings
Melius Research sees shares of Dell Technologies surging nearly 25% from here.
In a Tuesday note, the firm hiked its price target on the technology company to $380 from $245. Shares of Dell closed at $305.08 on Tuesday afternoon.
Dell is on the docket to report its fiscal first-quarter earnings after Thursday’s closing bell. Melius analyst Ben Reitzes reiterated his buy rating on the stock ahead of this print.
“We are focusing on the future, which is even brighter. We see Jensen’s CPU racks for agentics adding to traditional server upside, enterprise AI picking up in 2H for GPU-powered AI servers and regular storage set to benefit from agents too. We are raising our FY28 and FY29 EPS estimates that were already above consensus by 8% and 11%, respectively,” Reitzes wrote. “Furthermore, our targets surges to $380 (from $245) as Dell clearly deserves a higher multiple given its long-term growth that looks well above its long-term EPS growth target of 15%.”
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: Zscaler, Insulet and more
These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:
- Zscaler — Shares tumbled 19% after the cloud security company guided for current-quarter revenue of between $875 million to $878 million, falling short of the $879 million analysts were seeking, per LSEG.
- Insulet — Shares dropped almost 7% after the medical device company announced a voluntary medical device correction for specific lots of several of its pods.
- Box — The cloud-based content management provider slipped 2% after guiding for full-year adjusted earnings of $1.56 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG were expecting $1.63 a share.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures open little changed
Stock futures traded near flat on Tuesday night.
Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, futures tied to all three major averages were trading around the flatline.
— Lisa Kailai Han
