US stocks: Nasdaq rebounds on Micron before PCE, June 25, 2026
June 25, 2026
The US market enters a two-faced session. Micron's extraordinary results revive appetite for AI-linked stocks and lift Nasdaq futures, but the prospect of a tougher Federal Reserve keeps squeezing gold, bitcoin and investor sentiment. May's PCE price index, out at 2:30 pm Paris time, will decide which force wins.
Micron reignites the chip trade
On Wednesday evening, Micron delivered numbers that stunned the market. The memory maker posted revenue of $41.5 billion, up 346% year over year, a gross margin lifted to 84.9%, and above all guidance of about $50 billion for the current quarter, far above the $43.6 billion expected. The surge is rooted in data centers, where sales jumped sevenfold to $11.5 billion. The stock rose nearly 16% after the close, adding more than $120 billion in market value. Together with Qualcomm, Micron was enough to calm the semiconductor panic that had rattled the market a day earlier. This Thursday morning, Nasdaq 100 futures climb 1.9% and S&P 500 futures 0.5%.
The Fed remains the market's magnet
The tech rebound barely hides the real driver of recent sessions: the Federal Reserve. After its hawkish June 17 meeting, which held rates but raised inflation projections to 3.6% for 2026, the market pivoted. It now prices roughly a 68% chance of a policy-rate hike in September, up from 29% a week earlier. Nine of the eighteen committee members expect at least one increase by year-end. That hardening of expectations moved everything on the board: the dollar at a two-month high, tense bond yields and risk assets under pressure.
Gold and crypto foot the bill
The most visible casualty is gold. The metal lost more than 3% on Wednesday and broke the $4,000-an-ounce mark for the first time since November 2025, sliding to around $3,972. "More hawkish signals from Fed officials or data that supports the case for higher rates may translate into further downside for gold," warned Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM. ING cut its third-quarter forecast to $4,300, from $4,850. The same logic hit bitcoin, back around $62,700, a two-week low, also penalized by the strong dollar and the prospect of high rates.
Oil and Europe march to their own beat
Oil follows its own score. WTI trades near $70 a barrel and Brent below $74, after tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz and drained the geopolitical risk premium. In Europe, defense had a brutal session on Wednesday: Rheinmetall sank 18.6% after a report that Germany would scrap a six-warship program, dragging the DAX down 0.7% while the CAC 40 added 0.5%.
Key levels today
| Instrument | Level / Price | Change | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,358.22 | -0.10% | Reaction to PCE |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,476.64 | -0.43% | Micron rebound |
| Dow Jones | 51,848.90 | +0.35% | Defensive rotation |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 30,076 | +1.9% | Whether rebound holds |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | $3,972 | -3% | The $4,000 line |
Economic calendar
- 2:30 pm: May PCE price index, core seen at +2.6% year over year
- 2:30 pm: Q1 GDP, third estimate, consensus +1.6%
- 2:30 pm: May durable goods orders, +0.2% expected
- 2:30 pm: weekly jobless claims, 225,000 expected
The bottom line
Micron has revived the AI trade and lifted futures, but the Fed's path remains the real pilot, which our market coverage will track session after session. The 2:30 pm PCE print will tell whether the September hike case strengthens or eases.
This is not investment advice.
Tickers: MU, XAUUSD, BTCUSD