U.S. stocks saw slightly trimmed gains on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 poised to end a four-day losing streak. Strong earnings from Micron Technology boosted market sentiment, helping major indices rebound after recent declines. The U.S. November CPI rose 2.7% year-over-year, below expectations.
The Dow rose 76.82 points (0.16%) to 47,962.79, the Nasdaq climbed 296.98 points (1.31%) to 22,990.30, and the S&P 500 gained 51.86 points (0.77%) to 6,773.29. Micron Technology shares surged over 15% after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected Q1 revenue and profits, along with strong guidance for the current quarter. The company cited soaring AI-driven memory demand, stating its products were "completely sold out."
The upbeat earnings report helped restore market confidence. Additionally, November CPI data coming in below forecasts provided further support.
"The disinflation trend appears slightly faster than expected, though December data may show some reversal," said Chris O'Keefe, CIO at Logan Capital Management. "Investors are gradually accepting that 2% inflation may remain elusive in this environment—but the situation warrants monitoring."
Markets had endured a tough prior session, with AI-related semiconductor stocks dragging indices lower. The S&P 500 and Dow logged their fourth straight decline, while the Nasdaq Composite underperformed with a 1.8% drop.
Oracle shares fell over 5% after reports that key investors exited its $10 billion Michigan data center project. Concerns over capital expenditures for such projects weighed on chipmakers, with Broadcom down 4.5%, and Nvidia and AMD also declining.
Despite recent tech sector rotation, the group remains on track for ~19% annual gains.
"Oracle's weakness amplified tech jitters, but context matters—the sector is still up 20% this year after one of its longest bull runs," noted Ryan Detrick of Carson Group. "This is a controlled pullback in an otherwise resilient market."
U.S. November CPI rose 2.7% YoY vs. 3.1% expected, while core CPI (excluding food/energy) increased 2.6% vs. 3% forecast. The delayed report—the first since the government shutdown disrupted data collection—lacked October comparisons, leaving economists cautious about declaring a disinflation trend.
Investors parsed the data for Fed policy clues after its recent third consecutive 25bps rate cut. "A soft CPI would affirm the Fed's focus on safeguarding employment—effectively establishing a 'Fed put' supporting equities," said Fundstrat's Tom Lee.
Other data showed: - Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index fell to -10.2 in December (est. 2.3) - Weekly jobless claims dropped to 224,000 (est. 225,000) - Continuing claims rose to 1.897 million - Real average weekly earnings grew 0.8% YoY in November
October wage data was canceled due to the shutdown.
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