US open: Stocks mixed following PCE reading, Micron earnings

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were mixed early on Thursday as market participants digested a key inflation reading and celebrated better-than-expected quarterly earnings from Micron Technology.

As of 1455 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.45% at 52,084.73, while the S&P 500 shed 0.12% to 7,349.46 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.72% weaker at 25,292.83.

The Dow opened 235.83 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session amid falling crude prices.

Thursday's primary focus looked set to be news that US inflation accelerated in May, with the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge posting its fastest core increase since 2023, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% on the month and 3.4% year-on-year, both matching expectations. The annual rate was the highest since October 2023. Headline PCE inflation increased 0.4% on the month and 4.1% on the year, the strongest annual reading since April 2023. The monthly figure came in slightly below forecasts.

The BEA's report showed that inflation pressures remain broadbased, with energydriven price rises earlier in the year continuing to filter through the economy. Despite the elevated readings, consumer spending was stronger than expected, with personal consumption expenditures rising 0.7%, outpacing inflation, while personal income also climbed 0.7%, well above the 0.4% forecast.

On another note, US economic growth was revised higher in the first quarter, with real gross domestic product now estimated to have increased at an annualised 2.1% pace, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, following 0.5% growth in the final quarter of 2025. The upward revision of 0.5 percentage points from the second estimate primarily reflected a downward revision to imports, which subtract from GDP, partly offset by a softer reading on consumer spending. The BEA said firstquarter growth was supported by investment, exports, government spending and consumer spending, while imports increased.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment at a decelerated rate in the week ended 20 June, according to the Department of Labor, with initial jobless claims dropping by 12,000 to 215,000. The previous week's level was upwardly revised by 1,000 from 226,000. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, came to 224,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week's revised average, while continuing claims increased by 21,000 to 1.82m. Also of note, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came to 1.2% for the week ended 13 June, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Moving on, US economic activity softened in May, with the Chicago Fed National Activity Index slipping to a reading of -0.10 from an upwardly revised +0.19 in April, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Two of the index's four broad categories weakened on the month, and three made negative contributions overall. Productionrelated indicators contributed -0.04, down sharply from +0.23 in April, while employment indicators also contributed -0.04, compared with +0.05 previously. The personal consumption and housing category again contributed -0.04, unchanged from April. The only positive contribution came from sales, orders and inventories, which improved to +0.02 from -0.04.

Still to come, the Kansas Federal Reserve's June manufacturing index will follow at 1600 BST.

In the corporate space, Micron remained in focus at the open after the chipmaker reported a sharp acceleration in growth in its third quarter, with revenues more than quadrupling as demand linked to the artificialintelligence boom continued to surge. Micron Technology said revenues came in at $41.46bn, well ahead of the $35.84bn expected, while adjusted earnings per share of $25.11 also beat forecasts of 20.78 per share. Sales were up from $9.3bn a year earlier.

Olive Garden owner Darden Restaurants posted mixed quarterly results on Thursday as same-store sales growth fell short of expectations, while FedEx and Wise will report earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $139.87 5.79%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $1,036.36 3.25%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,089.90 2.05%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $411.00 1.62%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $265.58 1.37%

3M Co. (MMM) $168.02 1.21%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $354.20 1.19%

American Express Co. (AXP) $346.05 1.12%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $122.34 0.85%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $336.25 0.64%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $361.90 -3.60%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $283.16 -2.77%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $28.93 -2.20%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $151.60 -1.66%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $170.23 -1.02%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $267.93 -0.37%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.04 -0.14%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.52 -0.11%

Boeing Co. (BA) $221.18 -0.02%

S&P 500 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $1,237.11 17.53%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $224.44 9.31%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $215.10 8.64%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $628.66 8.14%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $1,097.21 7.82%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $705.11 6.30%

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $133.93 5.89%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $390.54 5.85%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $139.01 5.79%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $548.82 5.74%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (JEF) $53.38 -8.22%

CME Group Inc. (CME) $228.64 -5.64%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $64.37 -4.52%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $227.14 -4.47%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $336.25 -3.99%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $144.22 -3.98%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $336.21 -3.86%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $361.04 -3.60%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $545.62 -3.38%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $1,237.11 17.53%

QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $215.10 9.18%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $628.66 7.38%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $1,097.21 6.47%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $705.11 6.30%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $390.54 5.85%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $139.01 5.79%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $252.99 5.57%

Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,832.74 4.95%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $426.25 4.87%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $38.97 -12.78%

Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $227.14 -4.47%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $281.79 -4.35%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $361.04 -4.18%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $336.25 -3.99%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $336.21 -3.86%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $545.62 -3.78%

NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $114.52 -3.54%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $179.46 -2.80%