U.S. stock futures point higher in early morning European trade after Micron Technology's expectation-thumping earnings reignited optimism in the artificial-intelligence boom.
Brent crude oil prices fell back to levels last seen immediately before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran at the end of February, as tankers continued to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan's Nikkei hit a fresh record as AI exuberance flowed back into the market following Micron's earnings, while Nasdaq futures are up by more than 2%.
U.S. Treasury yields edged higher ahead of the release of U.S. PCE inflation data for May later Thursday, with a hot print likely to further bolster expectations of multiple Federal Reserve rate hikes this year. The dollar held higher, helping to push gold below $4,000 a troy ounce.
--In early European trading, Brent crude falls 1.1% to $73.10 a barrel, while WTI futures are down 0.9% to $69.70 a barrel. "The market is likely extrapolating the swift, thus far, recovery of Mideast supply and already pricing expected future surpluses," analysts at Goldman Sachs said. "Beyond the spot-price selloff, the market is increasingly challenging its prior assumption that long-dated prices need to incorporate a sticky security premium." According to the bank, total Gulf oil exports have rebounded to 63% of normal levels, supported by increased tanker crossings through the Strait of Hormuz and a higher proportion of "visible" vessels that have resumed using their ship-tracking signals.
--In the U.S., stock futures rose across three large-cap indexes. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.75%. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.2%.
Micron rose close to 19% in after-hours trade following earnings beats across a clutch of metrics. The memory chip maker raised forecasts and said a shortage in chips would last beyond 2027. Other chip makers rallied on the back of the print, with Intel and AMD rising 5.35% and 3.5%, respectively.
--Asian equity markets were mostly higher. Semiconductor-heavy indexes led Thursday's advance after the selloff earlier this week. South Korea's Kospi jumped 5.4% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed 4.6% higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.8% with Alibaba falling 5.2%.
--European indexes were mostly higher at the open. Software and hardware technology stocks diverged, as the Europe-wide Stoxx 600 rose 0.2%. In Frankfurt, German software giant SAP fell 2.05%, while chip manufacturer Infineon Technologies surged 5.35%. The semiconductor-heavy Dutch AEX rose 0.6%, with Micron-supplier ASML jumping 4%. France's CAC 40 edged down 0.1%. Gains for STMicroelectronics--up 3.8%--were outweighed by losses in defense and software, while LVMH slipped 0.85%. Precious metals miners weighed on London's FTSE 100, which slipped 0.2%. Silver miner Fresnillo was down 1.9%. Italy's FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 both nudged up 0.1%.
--The dollar traded steady after reaching a 13-month high Wednesday as investors await key inflation data that could provide clues on whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year as expected. The DXY dollar index traded flat at 101.594 after reaching as high as 101.800 Wednesday.
--U.S. Treasury yields edged higher in Asian trade, slightly more so on the short end of the curve, signaling market expectations of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes. "If today's PCE outcome supports market expectations of hikes from the Fed, the dollar is likely to continue to strengthen," SEB's Karl Steiner, head of analysis, said in a note. Both headline and core inflation are expected to have accelerated in May. The two-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 4.147%, while the 10-year yield was up 1 basis point to 4.409%, according to Tradeweb.
--Eurozone government bond yields were barely changed amid a thin economic data calendar. The 10-year Bund yield declined 0.2 basis points to 2.864%, staying close to a 3.5-month low of 2.858% reached on Wednesday.
--Bitcoin rose in Asian trading as the market stabilizes on lighter positioning and improved leverage conditions, though fresh buying remains subdued, Wintermute trader Jasper De Maere said. However, the Fed's hawkish stance is weighing on capital flows into bitcoin, which needs liquidity from ETFs, stablecoins and digital asset treasuries, De Maere added. Bitcoin was last up 1.1% at $61,539.41.
--Gold prices held below $4,000 a troy ounce on rising bets of interest-rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year. In early European trading, gold futures in New York were down 0.2% to $3,999.70 an ounce. Spot gold fell 2.7% to $3,999.08 an ounce, the lowest since November of last year. "Despite a slump in energy prices, concerns about persistently higher inflation have seen a significant re-rating of monetary policy expectations," analysts at ANZ said. Meanwhile, the Fed's hawkish stance "appears to have derailed the debasement trade, where assets such as gold were favored over currencies vulnerable to inflation, fiscal and monetary excess."
Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 25, 2026 03:59 ET (07:59 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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