Micron earnings lift Nasdaq futures 2% ahead of PCE

What changed overnight for tech markets

Asian equities and US stock futures moved higher on Thursday after Micron Technology’s quarterly results and guidance helped ease a fresh wave of investor anxiety around artificial intelligence-linked spending. The move came after a choppy stretch for global tech shares, where valuation concerns and profit-taking had pressured the sector. Micron’s update was interpreted as a direct read-through on demand for AI infrastructure, particularly memory used in data centres. As a result, chip and broader technology names led premarket gains in the US, while Asia’s tech-heavy benchmarks also advanced.

Asia opens higher as Japan tech leads

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.6% in Thursday trade, taking its year-to-date gain to 44%. The rally was described as being driven mainly by technology shares. Memory-chip maker Kioxia jumped 12.3%, highlighting the market’s quick response to Micron’s signal that demand for advanced memory remains firm. Other regional indices tied closely to AI supply chains also gained, with South Korea’s Kospi cited as rising by more than 4%.

US index futures jump, led by Nasdaq

US equity futures strengthened in premarket trading, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100. Multiple reports put Nasdaq 100 futures up more than 2%, with one snapshot showing Nasdaq 100 futures up 2.2% to 30,154 points, while S&P 500 futures rose 1.7% to 7,482 points and Dow Jones futures added 0.2% to 52,395. Another market update showed Nasdaq 100 contracts rising as much as 2.4%, with S&P 500 futures up about 0.8% and Dow futures up around 0.3%.

The bounce followed a weak patch for tech shares earlier in the week. One account described the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging a third straight day of declines on Wednesday as technology continued to falter after two sessions of steep losses, while another summary noted a recovery in the broader market. Separately, Reuters described Wednesday’s cash-market close as mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.35% while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slipped 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.

Micron’s quarter refocuses attention on memory shortages

Micron’s stock rose sharply in Thursday morning and premarket trade, with reports putting the move at about 17% to over 18%. The rally followed results that beat projections for quarterly revenue and earnings, alongside guidance that exceeded expectations.

A key detail highlighted in coverage was profitability linked to supply constraints. A shortage of memory chips for data centres was cited as a factor pushing Micron’s profit margin to nearly 85%, compared with less than 40% a year earlier. In addition, Micron said customers had committed USD 22 billion to secure its memory chips, a data point investors treated as a concrete sign of demand visibility.

Qualcomm adds to the AI-demand narrative

Qualcomm’s forecast also supported sentiment around AI-related infrastructure spending. The company projected that its data-centre business would generate USD 15 billion in revenue by 2029. Together, Micron’s customer commitments and Qualcomm’s longer-dated revenue target helped shift the narrative from near-term valuation worries to the durability of AI-linked demand.

Chip stocks rally in sympathy

The move was not confined to Micron. Semiconductor and storage names rose in premarket trading as investors returned to the group. Sandisk and Western Digital were both described as climbing by double digits, with one report citing early gains of about 15% and 12% respectively, and another summarising that Qualcomm, Sandisk and Western Digital were up 12% or more.

Inflation stays in focus: PCE at 4.1% year-on-year

While the tech rally was the headline, macro data remained central to positioning. Markets were watching the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Reuters expected annual PCE inflation of 4.1%, well above the Fed’s 2% target.

Later updates in the provided material said May PCE rose 0.4% month-on-month, taking the annual rate to 4.1% and described it as largely in line with expectations. Core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, was also referenced, with an expectation cited at 3.4% year-on-year. Investors were also monitoring inflation after oil-price moves pushed the Consumer Price Index to its highest level in three years last month, according to the text.

Other cross-currents: oil and yields

Falling oil prices were cited as another supportive factor for sentiment, with Brent crude futures trading just above levels seen at the onset of the Mideast conflict. At the same time, Treasury yields were described as gradually rising into the inflation release, reflecting uncertainty about the path of prices and rates.

Key numbers at a glance

Market Impact

The immediate market impact was a rotation back into chipmakers and AI-adjacent technology stocks, visible in both Asia’s session and US premarket trading. Nasdaq 100 futures leading gains by more than 2% signalled that the strongest response was concentrated in tech rather than broad market beta, consistent with a catalyst originating from the semiconductor supply chain.

Micron’s sharp share move and the broader premarket rally in storage and semiconductor names suggested investors treated the company’s results as a read-through for AI-related demand rather than a one-off beat. The USD 22 billion in customer commitments served as a tangible data point supporting order visibility, while Qualcomm’s USD 15 billion revenue target for 2029 provided a longer horizon for data-centre growth assumptions. At the same time, the focus on PCE inflation at 4.1% year-on-year underscored that macro risks remain relevant, particularly for high-multiple stocks sensitive to interest rates.

Analysis: why Micron’s update mattered this week

The timing of Micron’s results mattered because they arrived after a sell-off in AI-focused names driven by concerns over valuations and the sustainability of spending. By pointing to a data-centre memory shortage and sharply higher margins, Micron reframed the debate toward supply-demand tightness and pricing power. That combination typically supports earnings durability, which can stabilise sentiment during periods of tech volatility.

However, the same session also kept attention on inflation. With PCE inflation running at 4.1% annually, more than double the Fed’s target, investors had to balance strong company-level signals against the risk that rates stay higher for longer. The day’s price action, with tech futures rising strongly while markets awaited inflation data, reflected that tension.

Conclusion

Thursday’s rally across Asian tech and US futures was driven primarily by Micron’s results and guidance, reinforced by Qualcomm’s longer-term data-centre outlook. Investors also tracked the Fed’s PCE inflation data, with May readings cited at 0.4% month-on-month and 4.1% year-on-year. The next market checkpoint will be how investors reconcile company demand signals with inflation prints that remain well above the central bank’s 2% target.