S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures edged higher on Wednesday, rebounding from two straight sessions of declines, as investors returned to technology shares after a steep selloff, with Micron's earnings under the spotlight.
Concerns around aggressive, debt-backed spending by hyperscalers and a potentially more hawkish Federal Reserve fueled the downturn in previous sessions, wiping off more than $1 trillion in market value from the Nasdaq 100. Get a daily digest of breaking business news straight to your inbox with the Reuters Business newsletter.
Memory chipmakers moved higher in premarket trading, following a sharp plunge in the previous session, with Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab and Sandisk (SNDK.O), opens new tab adding 3.8% and 2.9%, respectively. The choppy backdrop in equities has intensified focus on Micron's results after the bell, as it is a key beneficiary of surging demand from companies investing billions in AI infrastructure. The stock has surged more than 268% in 2026, despite a 13% drop on Tuesday. "We will all be looking at Micron since that is a representation of what we've seen in this rally. I think people are going to get the blowout quarter that they expect, but I don't expect the stock to continue to rise," said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. "It's fallen (after) six of its last eight earnings reports, even though Micron has reported blowout earnings." At 06:35 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 50 points, or 0.1%, and S&P 500 E-minis were up 15.5 points, or 0.21%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 164.25 points, or 0.55%.
Investors continued to monitor Middle East developments after the U.S. and Iran offered conflicting accounts on a range of key issues including financial incentives for Iran, control over the Strait of Hormuz and Israel's war in Lebanon. Optimism surrounding an end to the war and strong earnings growth expectations have put the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab on track for its strongest quarterly gain in six years, despite expectations of higher interest rates. Traders are adding to bets of a second rate hike from the Fed by December-end, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool, from prior expectations of a single 25-basis-point rise, after new chair Kevin Warsh emphasized the need to curb inflation.
The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard The closely watched Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, could offer fresh insight on the monetary policy path on Thursday. Economists expect a rise to 4.1%, more than twice the central bank's target. Among early movers, Cerebras Systems (CBRS.O), opens new tab tumbled 13.3% after the chip designer forecast full-year profit margins would drop below first-quarter figures in its debut report after going public.
FedEx (FDX.N), opens new tab slid 7.1% after reporting that margins in its core delivery segment shrank in the latest quarter from a year earlier. Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab shares were marginally up after S&P Global said the Google-parent would join the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Verizon Communication
