Nasdaq futures surged before the opening bell after Micron Technology delivered a sales outlook well above market expectations, reviving confidence in the artificial intelligence trade just weeks after investors began to question how far semiconductor valuations could run.
Micron shares jumped about 16% to 18% in premarket trading, while Qualcomm climbed roughly 10% to 12% after outlining a plan to generate more than $15 billion in annual AI-related data-center revenue by fiscal 2029. The move helped push Nasdaq 100 futures up 2.1%, outpacing a 0.7% rise in S&P 500 futures.
The rally came as Brent crude fell below $73 a barrel and WTI slipped back under $70, removing the war-related premium that had recently unsettled markets. Lower oil prices softened inflation fears and gave investors room to refocus on earnings momentum in chips and AI infrastructure.
Key Facts
- Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.1% in premarket trading, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.7%.
- Micron Technology (MU) advanced as much as 18% premarket after issuing fiscal fourth-quarter revenue guidance of about $50 billion versus a $43.2 billion consensus estimate cited in the market update.
- Qualcomm (QCOM) rose roughly 10% to 12% after projecting more than $15 billion in annual AI component sales for data centers by fiscal 2029.
- Brent crude dropped 1.4% to below $73 a barrel, while WTI crude fell back under $70, erasing gains linked to Middle East conflict concerns.
- Korea’s KOSPI rallied about 5.4% to 5.5%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed about 4.6% as Asian chip stocks followed the U.S. semiconductor rebound.
Micron AI rally
The immediate catalyst was Micron’s latest forecast, which suggested demand for memory tied to AI workloads remains much stronger than many investors had expected. Management signaled that supply conditions are likely to stay tight beyond fiscal 2027, reinforcing the idea that high-bandwidth memory and other AI-linked components are still in short supply across the industry.
That matters because Micron has become a key read-through for the broader AI hardware cycle. Strong orders at a memory supplier can indicate that cloud providers, server makers and systems companies are still spending aggressively to expand AI capacity. Qualcomm’s investor-day update added another layer to that thesis by showing that the AI opportunity is widening beyond traditional handset and PC exposure into data-center and edge-computing markets.
The move was not a broad-based rally across all technology names. Several mega-cap platform companies tied to AI spending were indicated lower in premarket trading, including Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META). That divergence highlights a market tension that has become more visible in recent weeks: semiconductor makers are benefiting directly from the capital-expenditure cycle, while some of the companies funding that spending are facing questions about timing, returns and valuation support.
Micron’s outlook suggests the AI buildout is still accelerating, and investors are once again treating semiconductors as the clearest proof point in the trade.
Why semiconductors are leading again
The latest price action underscores how central chips have become to the market’s AI narrative. Investors have been searching for evidence that spending plans are translating into real revenue growth, not just long-term promises. Micron’s forecast offered that evidence in a concrete form: higher expected sales, persistent supply tightness and no near-term visibility on demand cooling enough to restore balance.
The response spread quickly across the sector. Semiconductor exchange-traded funds and DRAM-linked names moved higher, while Asian peers including SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics also rallied. The strength suggests investors are increasingly distinguishing between the companies supplying essential AI hardware and the broader universe of technology stocks that may benefit from AI over a longer period but do not yet show the same near-term earnings acceleration.
Implications for Investors
For investors, the main takeaway is that AI enthusiasm remains highly selective but very much alive. The strongest signals continue to come from companies with direct exposure to memory, accelerators, networking and data-center components. Micron and Qualcomm’s updates suggest that enterprise and hyperscale spending is still feeding through the hardware stack, which could support semiconductor earnings estimates into the second half of 2026.
At the same time, the divergence between chip stocks and several mega-cap buyers of AI infrastructure is worth monitoring. If semiconductor suppliers continue to outperform while large platform companies lag, markets may be signaling a rotation within technology rather than a uniform rise across the sector. That creates opportunity for investors focused on supply-chain beneficiaries, but it also raises the risk of concentration if too much performance depends on a narrow group of names.
Macro conditions remain an important swing factor. The drop in oil prices reduces pressure on inflation expectations and may cushion concerns around future Federal Reserve tightening. Even so, markets were still awaiting May PCE inflation data, first-quarter GDP revisions, durable goods orders and jobless claims. Any upside surprise in inflation could challenge the risk-on mood, strengthen the dollar and pressure richly valued growth stocks, including the chip sector now leading the rebound.
Elsewhere in single-stock action, BlackBerry (BB) traded higher after lifting its full-year revenue forecast, IBM (IBM) gained after unveiling sub-1 nanometer chip technology, and Lockheed Martin (LMT) secured a Defense Department contract worth up to $35 billion tied to missile-defense interceptor production. On the downside, ARS Pharmaceuticals (SPRY) fell sharply after updating the market on payer access for neffy, while Trip.com (TCOM) dropped after missing first-quarter earnings expectations and signaling slower second-quarter revenue growth.
The next test for the rally will be whether semiconductor strength can hold after the initial earnings reaction and whether incoming inflation data support the broader equity backdrop. If AI-linked demand keeps translating into upgraded guidance, chips may remain the market’s preferred growth trade even as investors stay more cautious on the rest of technology.
VIP Algorithmic Setups
