Micron beats forecasts; chip stocks rally as dollar holds

Micron Technology reported a fiscal third-quarter revenue and earnings beat after markets closed and guided fourth-quarter revenue to $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion. The stock rose about 15% in after-hours trading, lifting semiconductor and hardware shares in Asian markets and helping recover tech futures.

Micron attributed the results to strong demand for high-bandwidth memory and data-center DRAM tied to generative artificial intelligence workloads. The company said hyperscale customers are booking advanced memory capacity.

Before the earnings release, U.S. cash trading was mixed: the S&P 500 closed down about 0.1%, the Nasdaq-100 fell about 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 0.4% as investors rotated into financials and homebuilders. Nasdaq-100 E-mini futures recovered ground in the Asian session after Micron's after-hours jump.

The U.S. dollar remained firm, with the Dollar Index around 101.36, near a 13-month high. Short- and medium-term Treasury yields stayed elevated, with the two-year near 4.15% and the 10-year around 4.40%. Market participants were focused on the U.S. Core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index and scheduled Federal Reserve commentary.

Energy markets eased after shipping data showed normalised commercial transits through the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S.-Iran 60-day roadmap produced temporary petroleum export waivers. Front-month Brent futures traded near $73 per barrel and WTI settled below $70. WTI moved below its 200-day moving average, with a short-term resistance near $75.25 and intermediate supports around $67.40, $66.10 and $63.80.

Spot gold fell below the $4,000 mark to seven-month lows near $3,981 as investors shifted into yield-bearing assets ahead of the U.S. inflation release.

Large cloud providers and hyperscalers have placed orders for advanced memory capacity, giving suppliers of HBM and data-center DRAM extended order visibility. Other parts of the economy showed signs of slower trade volumes and margin pressure in recent industrial and corporate data.

Asian markets showed sector dispersion after Micron's report. South Korea's KOSPI gained about 6%, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose about 3.7% and Taiwan's TAIEX advanced about 1%. China's CSI 300 added about 0.7% and Singapore's STI rose about 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell about 1.1% and Australia's ASX 200 slipped 0.1%. The Japanese yen remained under pressure against the dollar, with USD/JPY around 161.70.

Global fixed-income markets showed minor stabilisation in yield curves as investors adjusted positions around earnings and incoming data. Market attention remained on the U.S. Core PCE inflation reading and Fed commentary for potential impact on yields and the dollar.