Key insights
- US stock futures show mixed signals ahead of Micron's earnings, with tech stocks attempting a rebound after Tuesday's sell-off. Micron and other memory chip stocks saw premarket gains following significant losses. Alphabet's inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average provided a boost. Investors are closely watching Micron's earnings report for insights into the semiconductor sector's health and potential future market direction, balancing technical positioning with emerging fundamental risks.
U.S. stock futures were mixed early Wednesday after technology stocks rebounded in premarket trade, and investors looked ahead to the release of Micron Technology’s earnings after the bell.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.17% and 0.59%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 69 points, or 0.13%.
Shares of Micron rose 3.9% in premarket trading, and Sandisk was up 3.5%. The two memory stocks tumbled 13% in the previous session. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), down 14% in the regular session, moved 4.3% higher in premarket trade.
Micron will report its latest earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts polled by FactSet see earnings of $20.83 per share on revenue of $35.75 billion.
Alphabet also moved 0.67% higher after S&P Global said the Google parent would join the 30-stock Dow ahead of trading next Monday.
Intel was up more than 2% in the premarket, having shed 6% in Tuesday’s session, and Qualcomm, which shed 8% Tuesday, was up 2.24%
Wednesday’s premarket gains comes after a rout in the technology sector dragged the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lower on Tuesday, with the averages losing 1.44% and 2.21%, respectively. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 45.87 points, or 0.09%.
Investors sold off semiconductor-adjacent stocks in Tuesday’s session, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) ending the day 7% lower. Traders rotated into more defensive names, lifting Walmart nearly 2% and boosting tech stalwart IBM 5%.
Arguments around technical positioning exhaustion “may be true, but I would argue there might be some fundamental risk emerging as well,” said Dan Skelly, head of market research and strategy at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ve heard about pricing wars among some of the model builders, we’ve heard about rental prices for old GPUs starting to decline, and we’ve also seen a shift in tone from Microsoft, who led the AI launch three years ago with ChatGPT and their partnership with Open AI,” he added. “Microsoft [is] now talking about a change in strategic direction for lower-cost models.”
Micron has had an astronomical run in 2026, with shares hitting a new all-time high on Monday and ending Tuesday at $1,051.77 per share. But Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, warned the stock could fall after the earnings report.
It might go “down to $1,000. That’s going to sound like a big drawdown, but it’s something that traders will be watching as it starts to get in line with this 20-day moving average,” he said.
Paychex will report earnings before Wednesday’s opening bell. Investors will also watch for building permits and new home sales readings for May.
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 was almost 0.1% higher in mid-morning trade, with regional bourses and sectors mixed.
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed as regional technology rebounded after Wall Street’s sell-off. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.88% to 69,174.97, while South Korea’s Kospi jumped more than 3% in volatile trading to 8,471.02, recovering from a 10% decline on Tuesday.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the session 0.24% higher at 8,808.4. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.36% to 23,420.4, while the mainland CSI 300 was up 0.48%, ending the trading day at 4,943.02.