S&P 500, Nasdaq Close Lower On Tech Weakness But Recover After-Hours On Strong Micron Earnings — MU, AVGO, GOOGL In Focus

• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.1% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Dow Jones added 0.4%.
• Alphabet to replace Verizon in the Dow. 
• Micron’s strong Q3 earnings pushed benchmark indices higher in after-hours trading. 

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped on Wednesday for the third consecutive session amid rising investor concerns about the longevity of the AI boom ahead of Micron earnings due after-hours.   

The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq lost 0.4% and the Dow Jones rose 0.4%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, added 0.4%. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) lost 0.1% and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Wednesday around 0.4% lower, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) ended 0.4% higher. 

Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 0.5%.

However, all three indices and the ETFs tracking them were seen gaining after hours following strong Q3 results from Micron, which alleviated concerns that surging AI demand may have gotten ahead of itself. 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY was ‘bearish,’ while sentiment for QQQ and DIA was ‘bullish,’ with ‘normal’ to ‘high’ message volumes.

US Market Drivers

Micron Technologies (MU) share price soared 11% after-hours on Wednesday after the company broke past Q3 earnings and revenue estimates by a wide margin and furnished a strong outlook for the upcoming quarter amid soaring demand for memory chips amid AI-fueled shortages.  

“When stocks rise too much and too fast, a pullback almost always ensues,” Rick Gardner at RGA Investments told Bloomberg in an interview. “We would much rather be buying tech stocks on days when they are down, and the pullback can present an opportunity for investors who do not have adequate exposure to this space, which is still fundamentally strong.” 

The strong results pushed the nearly $500 billion exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq 100 up by 1.5% in after-hours trading, while the Dow and the ETF tracking the index both have consistently gained this week, owing to lower oil prices. 

Meanwhile, JPMorgan hiked its S&P 500 target for 2026 to 7,800 from 7,200, implying an upside potential of more than 5% from current levels.

According to a CNBC report citing a note from the firm, JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas said that U.S. stocks are heading towards a “Blue Sky” scenario as the United States and Iran inch closer to a peace deal.

“However, it’s important to keep in mind that the path upwards will likely be non-linear, as the market will need to clear various hurdles,” Lakos-Bujas added.

Trending Stocks To Watch 

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL): Alphabet is set to replace Verizon in the Dow. Another report suggested that two more AI researchers from Google were set to join Anthropic. 

Broadcom (AVGO): Shares of Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) and Celestica Inc. (CLS) gained on Wednesday after Broadcom and OpenAI unveiled Jalapeno, the ChatGPT maker’s first custom AI chip. Celestica partnered on the boards, racks and systems supporting the new processor. 

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX): The company said that it has begun a human study of VK3019, its experimental drug for obesity. 

Uber (UBER): The company announced the integration of five new major retail brands into its marketplace platforms. The development accelerates its strategic shift to transform its delivery applications into multi-category shopping hubs.  

Read More: GOOGL Stock: Google Loses More AI Talent As Two Experts Reportedly Move To Anthropic

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