Tech news in 3 minutes
S&P 500 rises as oil slides, traders await Micron earnings
The S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Wednesday, alongside the Nasdaq Composite, as falling oil prices boosted markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 547 points, or 1.1%. Oil prices continued sliding, with international benchmark Brent crude falling 4% to around $73 per barrel—its lowest since before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran in late February. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also dropped 4% to about $70, hitting its lowest since early March. Treasury yields declined as oil slid, with the 10-year note yield dropping below 4.5%. Energy stocks suffered: Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips each fell more than 2%, SLB dropped over 3%, and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declined nearly 2%. Meanwhile, shares of Micron Technology fell over 1%, along with fellow memory stock Sandisk, following a 13% drop in the previous session. Investors awaited Micron's earnings after Wednesday's close, with analysts polled by FactSet expecting earnings of $20.83 per share on revenue of $35.75 billion. Wednesday's gains followed a Tuesday tech sector rout that dragged the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) ended Tuesday down 7%. Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments, called the tech pullback a "healthy recalibration," noting that high earnings expectations create a difficult bar to clear in July. Micron had hit an all-time high on Monday before closing Tuesday at $1,051.77. Jay Woods of Freedom Capital Markets warned the stock could fall to $1,000 after earnings. In other news, Alphabet rose nearly 1% after S&P Global announced it will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.