Wall St set for subdued open after economic data; Micron drags chip stocks lower

FILE PHOTO: People walk around the Financial District near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 29, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -U.S. main stock indexes were set to open muted on Thursday as a slump in Micron after a lackluster forecast weighed on some semiconductor stocks, while investors parsed a string of economic data ahead of this week's crucial inflation report.

Data showed orders for durable goods rose 0.1% in May, where economists had expected them to fall 0.1%. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.1%, versus forecasts for a 0.2% rise.

Weekly jobless claims fell to 233,000, missing expectations of 236,000. Further, a final print showed the U.S. economic growth increased more than estimated in the first quarter.

The data comes ahead of Friday's release of the monthly personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

However, some megacap stocks firmed as Treasury yields turned lower after the data, with Amazon.com rising 0.6% after hitting $2 trillion in market value for the first time on Wednesday.

Micron lost 4.2% premarket after an in-line fourth-quarter revenue forecast disappointed investors hoping for more upside from the memory chipmaker's performance in the artificial intelligence boom. Optimism around AI-driven demand had lifted the stock 14% this month ahead of earnings.

Other semiconductor stocks including AI-trade favorite Nvidia fell 1.2%, while Arm Holdings, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices also edged lower.

With a handful of expensive heavily weighted stocks supporting Wall Street's ascent since the last leg of 2023, market participants have highlighted concerns over the rally's sustainability and have called out for the need to diversify portfolios to hedge against possible sharp losses.

"It's really a question of whether corporate earnings in the tech sector can remain resilient. If they can't, then we will see probably intermittent profit taking and small corrections," said Mike Gallagher, director of research at Continuum Economics.

"It's going to be a bit difficult for the tech sector to drive on the market the way that it's done as we're entering a more consolidative, choppy phase."

Meanwhile, investors have largely stuck to their view of around two interest rate cuts this year, as per LSEG's FedWatch data, even though the U.S. central bank has projected only one.

Chances of an at least 25-basis-point rate cut in September, however, have slipped slightly to 58% from over 60% earlier in the week.

Further, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are set to face each other in the first debate during the day, ahead of their rematch this November.

At 8:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 83 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 2.5 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 11.25 points, or 0.06%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance slid 19.4% after cutting its 2024 profit forecast and planning to close more underperforming U.S. stores.

Nike is due to report results after the closing bell.

Denim maker Levi Strauss slumped 16.7% after falling short of expectations for second-quarter revenue, while U.S.-listed shares of Canada's BlackBerry rose 7.7% after beating first-quarter revenue estimates.

International Paper dropped 10.4% after the world's largest pulp manufacturer, Brazil's Suzano, terminated talks to buy the U.S.-based firm.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)