Stocks Climb Before the Open on Micron Boost Ahead of U.S. Inflation Data

December S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESZ25) are up +0.46%, and December Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQZ25) are up +0.74% this morning as forecast-beating quarterly results and guidance from Micron boosted sentiment.

Micron Technology (MU) surged over +10% in pre-market trading after the largest U.S. memory-chip maker posted upbeat FQ1 results and gave a blowout FQ2 forecast.

Lower bond yields today are also supporting stock index futures.

Investor focus now turns to delayed U.S. inflation data for November.

In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s three main equity benchmarks ended in the red. AI-infrastructure stocks slumped, with GE Vernova (GEV) plunging over -10% to lead losers in the S&P 500 and Constellation Energy (CEG) sliding more than -6% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100. Also, chip stocks slipped, with ARM Holdings (ARM) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) falling over -5%. In addition, Lennar (LEN) slid over -4% after the homebuilder posted weaker-than-expected FQ4 adjusted EPS and issued soft FQ1 new orders guidance. On the bullish side, Texas Pacific Land (TPL) climbed more than +7% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after the landowner announced a strategic agreement with Bolt Data & Energy to develop data center campuses on Texas Pacific property in West Texas.

“The AI trade continues to take on water,” said Jonathan Krinsky at BTIG. “While it’s still premature to say this is ‘the’ top for AI stocks, evidence is growing that it’s more than just a speed bump. The other question is if, in fact, AI is losing its leadership, where will new leadership be?”

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday he supports additional interest rate cuts to bring the central bank’s setting back to neutral, while noting there is no need to move hastily. “Because inflation is still up, we can take our time — there’s no rush to get down,” Waller said in a CNBC forum. Outlining a scenario in which inflation continues to ease through 2026, Waller said monetary policy settings remain as much as 100 basis points above neutral. At the same time, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that while it is a “close call,” inflation currently poses a greater concern than the labor market.

Meanwhile, U.S. rate futures have priced in a 73.4% chance of no rate change and a 26.6% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut at the next central bank meeting in January.

Today, all eyes are on the U.S. consumer inflation report for November, which is set to be released in a couple of hours. Notably, the report will have no monthly changes for most price categories, providing only a partial snapshot of inflation. That’s because the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it was unable to retroactively obtain much of the October price data, and November data collection was also delayed by the government shutdown. Economists, on average, forecast that the U.S. November CPI will come in at +3.1% y/y, compared to +3.0% y/y in September. Also, the U.S. core CPI is expected to be +3.0% y/y in November, unchanged from September.

A survey conducted by 22V Research showed that 36% of investors expect a “risk-on” market reaction to the CPI report, 46% anticipate a “mixed/negligible” response, and just 18% expect a “risk-off” reaction.

U.S. Initial Jobless Claims data will also be closely monitored today. Economists estimate this figure will come in at 224K, compared to last week’s number of 236K.

The U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index will be released today as well. Economists anticipate that the Philly Fed manufacturing index will stand at 2.5 in December, compared to last month’s value of -1.7.

On the earnings front, high-profile companies such as Accenture (ACN), Nike (NKE), Cintas (CTAS), and FedEx (FDX) are set to report their quarterly figures today.

In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note is at 4.129%, down -0.48%.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index is up +0.26% this morning on a busy day for central bank meetings in the region. Retail and energy stocks gained ground on Thursday. Data released on Thursday showed that France’s manufacturing confidence index climbed to an over 1-1/2-year high in December. Past production rose for the first time in six months as auto output improved, while the decline in orders, especially foreign orders, eased. Meanwhile, Sweden’s central bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 1.75% on Thursday, as expected, and reiterated that the next move will be a hike, though not anytime soon. Norway’s central bank also held its key policy rate unchanged at 4.00%, as expected, while reaffirming plans to gradually ease monetary policy in the coming years. Investor focus now shifts to monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England later in the day. The ECB is widely expected to leave the deposit rate unchanged at 2.00%, with updated economic projections likely to signal solid growth and confidence that inflation will remain close to policymakers’ target. At the same time, the BoE is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75% as attention shifts from inflation concerns to the weakening U.K. economy and labor market. In corporate news, Aeroports DE Paris (ADP.P.DX) plunged over -10% after the French transport regulator rejected its 2026 tariff proposal.

France’s Business Survey was released today.

The French December Business Survey came in at 102, stronger than expectations of 98.

Asian stock markets today settled mixed. China’s Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) closed up +0.16%, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Index (NIK) closed down -1.03%.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed slightly higher today as investors rotated into defensive sectors amid growing concerns about economic weakness and elevated tech valuations. Bank, defense, and energy stocks outperformed on Thursday. Limiting gains, AI-related stocks retreated after concerns over AI funding weighed on tech shares on Wall Street overnight. Property stocks also slumped as China Vanke’s debt crisis continued. Fitch Ratings downgraded the homebuilder’s long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings to “C” from “CCC-” and also cut ratings on its wholly owned subsidiary, Vanke Real Estate. Vanke began a second meeting with holders of a 2 billion yuan ($283.99 million) bond on Thursday, as it races to secure extensions on debt payments with bondholders and banks in a bid to avoid a default. Meanwhile, investor sentiment soured this week after fresh economic data indicated a further slowdown in domestic demand, with Beijing remaining hesitant to roll out broad stimulus measures. In corporate news, China International Capital Corp. rose over +3% after detailing plans to acquire two rivals in a share-swap deal valued at about $16 billion. CICC stated that the acquisitions would help expand its business network, grow its client base, and strengthen its capital as it aims to become a top-tier investment bank.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Index closed sharply lower today, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. Technology stocks led the declines on Thursday, with SoftBank Group sliding over -3% after Oracle shares sank in New York following a report that Blue Owl Capital would not support a $10 billion deal for a data center in Michigan. Earlier this year, SoftBank Group, together with Oracle and OpenAI, announced plans to build data centers in the U.S. as part of their ambitious Stargate project. “The Stargate project is the centre of U.S. data centre development, and SoftBank is deeply involved in it,” said Kazuaki Shimada, chief strategist at IwaiCosmo Securities. Meanwhile, the yen was little changed on Thursday ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy decision on Friday. The BOJ is widely expected to raise its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 0.75%, the highest level in three decades, signaling growing confidence that it will achieve its stable inflation target. Market participants will closely watch Governor Kazuo Ueda’s post-meeting press conference for clues on how many additional rate hikes may be ahead. Bloomberg reported last week that BOJ officials believe the bank would still not be at the so-called neutral rate if borrowing costs are raised to 0.75%, with some officials seeing 1% as still below neutral. In other news, foreign investors bought a net 528.3 billion yen worth of Japanese stocks in the week through December 13th, marking a third consecutive week of net inflows, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. The Nikkei Volatility Index, which takes into account the implied volatility of Nikkei 225 options, closed down -1.31% to 27.97.

Pre-Market U.S. Stock Movers

Micron Technology (MU) surged over +10% in pre-market trading after the largest U.S. memory-chip maker posted upbeat FQ1 results and gave a blowout FQ2 forecast.

Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) jumped over +21% in pre-market trading after announcing a merger with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal valued at over $6 billion.

Lululemon Athletica (LULU) climbed more than +6% in pre-market trading after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist Elliott Investment Management had built a more than $1 billion stake in the company.

GE Vernova (GEV) gained more than +4% in pre-market trading after Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold with a price target of $815.

PayPal Holdings (PYPL) fell over -1% in pre-market trading after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $51.

You can see more pre-market stock movers here

Today’s U.S. Earnings Spotlight: Thursday - December 18th

Accenture (ACN), Nike (NKE), Cintas (CTAS), FedEx (FDX), Heico (HEI), Darden Restaurants (DRI), FactSet Research (FDS), Birkenstock Holding (BIRK), CarMax (KMX), KB Home (KBH), BlackBerry (BB), Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE), Mission Produce (AVO), Scholastic (SCHL), Innovative Solutions (ISSC), Bridgeline Digital (BLIN).