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Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Traders Assess Micron Results, Await Key Inflation Data

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Stocks Rise Pre-Bell as Traders Assess Micron Results, Await Key Inflation Data

US equity markets were pointing higher before the opening bell Thursday as traders parse Micron Technology's (MU) latest financial results and await key inflation and economic data.

The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq increased 2.2% in premarket activity. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed Wednesday trading down for the third consecutive session, while the Dow finished in the green.

Shares of Micron jumped 16% pre-bell as the semiconductor manufacturer issued an upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter outlook and reported stronger-than-expected results for the prior three-month period.

Micron's "stellar" earnings report eased tech investors' concerns about the artificial intelligence and memory trade, Wedbush Securities said in a Wednesday client note.

"The tech sector and chip trade still has a lot of room to go higher over the coming months as the stellar demand trends from our recent Asia checks gives us further confidence to own tech stocks into the second half of 2026 with a stronger growth trajectory ahead," according to the brokerage.

Qualcomm's (QCOM) stock rose 12% after the company agreed to acquire software infrastructure firm Modular in a roughly $3.92 billion deal. Nvidia (NVDA) gained 1.4%, while Intel (INTC) advanced 5.4%.

Bio-Techne (TECH) spiked 22% as the firm agreed to be acquired by Germany's Merck KGaA in a deal worth $11.3 billion.

The personal income and outlays report for May is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The report includes the personal consumption expenditure core price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric.

Treasury yields rose in premarket action, with the two-year rate advancing 1.3 basis points to 4.15% and the 10-year rate adding 0.8 basis points to 4.41%.

Thursday's economic calendar also has the third and final estimate report of the first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 am, along with the weekly jobless claims bulletin, the durable goods orders report and the Chicago Fed national activity index, both for last month. The Kansas City Fed manufacturing index for June posts at 11 am.

New York Fed President John Williams is slated to speak at 3:40 pm, while Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee speaks at 6:30 pm.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined 1.1% to $69.54 a barrel before the open, while Brent decreased 1.4% to $72.72.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly said Wednesday it would be "unacceptable and dangerous" for ships to transit new routes through the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with Tehran, CNBC reported, citing local state media.

In an emailed report on Wednesday, Stifel said 39 ships moved through the crucial waterway on Monday, still well below the usual average of over 100, but a strong improvement after more than three months of a complete halt in traffic.

Darden Restaurants (DRI), TD Synnex (SNX), McCormick (MKC), Acuity (AYI), Commercial Metals (CMC) and BlackBerry (BB) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Gold slipped 0.2% to $4,002 per troy ounce, while bitcoin gained 3% to $61,489.

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