Nasdaq futures gain as SK Hynix lifts chips ahead of Fed decision, earnings
Investors await key earnings as the next test of the AI trade, alongside the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 E-minis experienced a 0.45% increase, rising by 133.25 points on Wednesday. This surge was driven by memory-chip stocks, following SK Hynix's impressive quarterly earnings. The South Korean company reported a more than sevenfold jump in profits, leading to an 8.5% rise in its US-listed shares. Micron Technology also gained 4.2% in premarket trading after SK Hynix's results.
Other memory chip firms like Sandisk and Western Digital climbed 1.9% and 5.1%, respectively, while Seagate Technology fell 1.5% after reporting first-quarter results. The broader semiconductor sector also saw gains, with Nvidia up 0.8%, AMD increasing 1.8%, and Marvell Technology adding 2.3%. Alphabet stocks rose 1.5% following a report that OpenAI planned to purchase Google's AI chips.
The gains come as investors look to upcoming earnings from key players like Microsoft and Alphabet, who are expected to report accelerating cloud growth. The focus remains on the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, due at 2pm, with market expectations leaning towards a pause after last month's hike. Inflation concerns due to rising energy costs continue to favor tighter monetary policy.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
