US stocks rise after good Micron results
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened higher early Thursday following solid results from chip company Micron as markets digested a weaker than expected US first-quarter growth report.
Micron's profits were more than five times the level in the year-ago period as the tech company pointed to heavy growth in its data center business and signaled it expects record revenue.
Micron was higher early Thursday, along with Nvidia, another big artificial intelligence winner.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent at 43,201.07.
Wall Street indexes mixed as ME tensions ease
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 6,109.69, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 percent to 19,995.85.
'The market seems to like Micron's earnings and guidance,' said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. 'Barring some major piece of news right now, the mood in the market is it seems to be, you know, buy tech until it stops working.'
Data meanwhile showed the US economy decreased at an annual rate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter, a bigger fall than in the previous GDP estimate.
However, markets tend to take such data in stride because it is backward looking and the calendar is now approaching the end of the second quarter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Business Recorder
European shares see monthly declines as markets eye trade developments
FRANKFURT: European stocks ended lower in broad-based declines on Monday, closing out June with monthly losses as investors monitored for signs of any progress on US trade talks as the July tariff deadline loomed large. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.4% lower, clocking a more than 1% decline for the month. Global equities suffered losses this month as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East saw investors shy away from risky assets such as stocks. Despite June's losses, the benchmark saw a second successive quarterly rise, rebounding sharply from its April lows when US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs roiled financial markets. Since then, the index last stood more than 7% higher in the first half of the year, compared to a more than 5% rise in the US S&P 500. On Monday, heavyweight health care were the biggest drags, while miners also lagged with a 1.1% fall. Germany's Bayer fell 5.3% after the US Supreme Court asked the Trump administration for its views on the pharmaceutical group's bid to sharply limit lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer and potentially avert billions of dollars in damages. In the latest on the global trade front, Canada scrapped its digital services tax targeting US technology firms just hours before it was due to take effect, while the British government said the trade deal that reduced US tariffs on UK cars and aircraft parts has come into effect. Focus has been shifting to the July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States. 'Our baseline expectation is that the administration will seek to roll forward the July 9 deadline, citing at least some progress on trade deals and extending it to allow more time on the clock for these bilateral talks to progress,' Morgan Stanley analysts said. In other stock moves, European renewable energy stocks including Vestas, EDP Renovaveis and Orsted slid as a bill in the US Senate - which includes provisions to phase out solar, wind and energy tax credits by 2028 - progressed further. European banks slid 0.3%, with Germany's Deutsche Bank leading declines with a 3.2% fall. On the data front, preliminary estimates showed German inflation eased in June, while Italian EU-harmonised consumer prices (HICP) rose a preliminary 0.2% month-on-month in June.
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- Business Recorder
TSX rises as investors assess US-Canada trade talks
Canada's main stock index edged higher on Monday, on track to log its second consecutive monthly gain, while investors assessed the revival of trade talks between Washington and Ottawa. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.2% at 26733.42 points, set to log its fourth straight quarter in green. President Donald Trump had called off the trade talks on Friday over Canada's digital services tax targeting U.S. technology firms, calling it a 'blatant attack.' Canada late on Sunday scrapped the tax, hours before it was set to take effect, in a bid to restart the negotiations. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump will resume trade negotiations to agree to a deal by July 21, the Canadian finance ministry said. 'The biggest challenge for the market is to understand how quickly things will whipsaw and maybe not react quite as strongly to each individual step because we still haven't negotiated a trade agreement and there still could be some more challenges there,' Verecan Capital Management CEO Colin White said. With Trump's July tariff deadline looming, investors will monitor signs of progress on the trade front. Healthcare stocks led gains on the TSX, rising 2%. Bausch Health and Sienna Senior were up 4.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Communication stocks gained 0.9%. On the flip side, energy stocks led sectoral losses, dropping 0.6% as oil prices steadied with Middle East risks easing and markets weighing on a possible OPEC+ output increase in August. Baytex Energy lost 1.8%, International Petroleum was down 1.7%. In individual stocks, MDA Space rose 3.2% after the space firm announced a contract extension with the Canadian government providing continuous space-based maritime awareness and security. Methanol producer Methanex fell 2.2% to the bottom of the benchmark index.
Business Recorder
14 hours ago
- Business Recorder
S&P 500, Nasdaq at record highs as trade hopes feed quarterly momentum
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq scaled new heights on Monday, as optimism over the U.S. striking trade deals with its key partners fueled the bullish momentum that has kept indexes on track for gains this quarter. The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones have gained 17.5%, 10.2% and 4.6% so far in the quarter, touching and then retreating from record levels since late last year, partly because of headlines around President Donald Trump's rapid policy changes. The three indexes are still set for their weakest first-half performances since 2022, as the resulting uncertainty around policy has kept investors wary. The blue-chip Dow remains 2.3% below its record closing high reached on December 4. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite extended their record run from last week, on bets of deeper U.S. interest rate cuts and renewed optimism around AI. Investor focus is now on a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or see tariffs spike higher, but Trump has said he could extend the tariff deadline or 'make it shorter'. Canada on Sunday scrapped its digital services tax targeting U.S. tech firms, just hours before it was due to take effect, in a bid to advance stalled trade negotiations with the United States. 'We've got this deadline coming, but then Trump has said that the deadline can be moved. And then you've got markets thinking that the Fed could potentially cut interest rates sooner than later. So there are a lot of drivers here,' said Dennis Dick, at trader at Triple D Trading Inc. Wall Street Week Ahead: Jobs data, trade and fiscal policies in focus with S&P 500 on cusp of record 'Investors are just confident here in this market right now, because we've had some bad news come in, even some bad earnings reports, and they buy the stocks right back. So bulls remain in complete control.' Investors are also looking into economic data and fiscal policy developments to see if the latest bull run in U.S. stocks can continue. U.S. Senate Republicans will try to pass Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $3.3 trillion hit to the $36.2 trillion national debt. Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. Key economic data releases this week include monthly non-farm payrolls and the Institute for Supply Management's survey on manufacturing and services sectors for June. Several U.S. central bank officials including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are scheduled to speak later this week. A raft of soft economic data and expectations that Trump will replace Powell with someone dovish have pushed up bets of rate cuts from the Fed this year. At 09:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 178.68 points, or 0.41%, to 43,998.06, the S&P 500 gained 14.13 points, or 0.23%, to 6,187.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 44.64 points, or 0.22%, to 20,318.10. Shares of big U.S. banks rose after most cleared the Federal Reserve's annual 'stress test', paving the way for billions in stock buybacks and dividends. Shares of Bank of America edged up 0.8%, while rivals JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo added 1.5% and 1.9%. Juniper Networks rose 8.3% after the U.S. Justice Department settled its lawsuit challenging server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise's all-cash acquisition of the networking gear maker for $14 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares soared 9.6%. Shares of Oracle rose 6.4% after the company said the new cloud services agreement is expected to contribute more than $30 billion to annual revenue starting in fiscal year 2028. The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 37 new lows. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
