NEW YORK, June 21, 2026, 08:47 (EDT)
- Nasdaq ended the shortened week up 2.4%, outpacing a 0.9% rise for the S&P 500.
- Micron will report results Wednesday. May inflation figures and the last Q1 GDP estimate are due out Thursday.
- Fresh worries about Strait of Hormuz traffic are back, creating a possible oil and inflation risk for markets as Monday opens.
Chip stocks led tech shares higher in a short week for U.S. markets, putting attention on Micron Technology’s earnings for the coming days. The Nasdaq rose 2.43% over the week. Markets were shut Friday for Juneteenth and will reopen Monday.
The rally is back to concentrating on artificial intelligence infrastructure. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index hit a fresh record, closing up about 7% for the week. Andy Pratt, investment strategy director at Burney Company, called the AI trend “still a lot of juice.” Steve Kolano, chief investment officer at Integrated Partners, said chip demand is “just through the roof” compared to what’s available. Reuters
S&P 500 tech climbed 2.7% Thursday, but the rally thinned out below the surface. Software and services dropped 0.7% after Accenture slid 18% when it cut the upper end of its annual revenue outlook. The market favored scarce computing hardware, hitting slower-growing, labor-heavy tech services hard.
Apple could end up working with Intel on chip design and production in the U.S., President Donald Trump said this week. Intel shares surged 10.6% Thursday. Neither Apple nor Intel released immediate confirmation or further information, and Trump didn’t specify which chips or how many. An Apple deal could give Intel’s foundry unit more scale as it competes with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Tech funds in the U.S. picked up a record $21.46 billion for the week ended June 17, according to LSEG Lipper data. U.S. equity funds saw $38.37 billion in total coming in. That kind of buying props up the market, but also means a big position in a crowded chip stock could hurt more if things go south.
Micron is set to post its fiscal third-quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday. The chipmaker had forecast revenue at $33.5 billion, give or take $750 million, and expected a gross margin of about 81%. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra called “memory a strategic asset,” pointing to AI data centers’ higher demand for high-bandwidth memory — HBM, the fast chips next to processors that help with computing. Micron Technology
Micron stands with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as a top HBM supplier. The company’s capital spending this fiscal year is set to top $25 billion. Shares dropped 5% after last quarter’s report—even with strong numbers—which puts more weight on the outlook expected Wednesday than on what just closed.
Markets are watching for the key macro release set for 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday. The government will post May personal income and outlays and the latest PCE price index, the inflation metric favored by the Fed, at the same time as its third read on first-quarter GDP. A higher-than-expected inflation figure could move bond yields up and put pressure on tech valuations, which are tied to long-term profit expectations.
The Fed kept its main rate in the 3.5% to 3.75% range on Wednesday, warning that inflation is still high, with energy supply shocks in play. So the chip rally now has to contend with rate policy that isn’t as easy as earlier this year.
Strait of Hormuz in focus as Iran state media said Sunday the waterway will stay shut until a Lebanon ceasefire and oil waivers happen, but U.S. officials pushed back and said it’s not closed. Oil could spike again. A strong inflation print or weak Micron guidance could also drive yields higher and bring down sector prices fast.
Markets face a packed line-up with geopolitics in focus at Monday’s open, Micron reporting Wednesday, then inflation numbers due Thursday. If Micron gives strong guidance, it could back up the rally in hardware. But if the update disappoints, the divide between strong chip stocks and lagging software names may look less like a sign of leadership and more like a warning about how narrow this market has become.
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