Update: Continued Oil Price Decline, Micron Earnings Beat Drive US Equity Futures Higher
US equity futures were higher pre-bell Thursday as oil prices fell to their lowest since the start of the US-Iran war and memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology (MU) posted strong fiscal Q3 financial results and issued upbeat guidance.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.3% higher, S&P 500 futures were up 0.8%, and Nasdaq futures were 2.3% higher.Oil prices dropped to their lowest level since Feb. 28 as more oil tankers have started exiting the Strait of Hormuz. Around 20 million barrels of crude have passed through the waterway in the last 24 hours, Reuters cited US Energy Secretary Chris Wright as saying.Front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude was down 0.9% to $73.18 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude was 1.1% lower at $69.55 per barrel, slipping below $70 a barrel for the first time since March 2, Reuters said.Micron Technology shares rose 18% in premarket activity after the company overnight reported a fiscal Q3 earnings and revenue beat, and issued fiscal Q4 guidance above market expectations.The May core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, gained 0.3%, matching the increase in the prior month and in line with expectations in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Durable goods new orders fell 4.5% in May after an 8.5% gain in the prior month, compared with expectations for a 5% decrease.Initial jobless claims dropped to 215,000 in the week ended June 20 from 227,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for a smaller decrease to 225,000. Q1 GDP growth was revised up to a 2.1% annual rate from 1.6% previously, compared with expectations for no change.Federal Reserve New York President John Williams and Chicago President Austan Goolsbee are slated to speak on Thursday.In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 4.6% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.4% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was up 0.9%, and Germany's DAX index was 1% higher in Europe's early afternoon session.In equities, joining Micron in the technology sector rally are semiconductor firms Broadcom (AVGO), AMD (AMD), and Intel (INTC), which were up 1.9%, 1%, and 1.4%, respectively.On the losing side, Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google shares fell 1.8% after Bloomberg reported that the company is poised to lose two leading AI researchers to Anthropic. Alibaba (BABA) stock was down 2.6% after Bloomberg reported that Anthropic has alleged that Alibaba attempted to "illicitly" access its Claude artificial intelligence model through thousands of fraudulent accounts. Trip.com (TCOM) shares were down more than 12% after the company posted lower Q1 non-GAAP earnings.
