S&P futures experienced an uptick early Thursday, propelled by a strong earnings report from Micron Technology, as traders anticipated the forthcoming release of a significant inflation reading for May. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures experienced increases of 0.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Futures associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 140 points, representing a rise of 0.3%. Micron experienced a notable increase of 16% following the release of its fiscal third-quarter results, which exceeded analysts’ expectations. Fellow semiconductor stock Qualcomm experienced an increase of 11.7% following an upward revision of its guidance for non-handset revenue in fiscal 2029. This positive momentum was mirrored by other chip companies, including Sandisk, Western Digital, Lam Research, KLA, and Applied Materials, which also saw gains.

Chip stocks in Europe experienced an uptick during Thursday’s trading session, with ASMI, Be Semiconductor, and Soitec all registering significant increases. Outside of equities, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was approximately 0.1% lower in early morning trading, following an increase on Wednesday amid growing expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes. Investors will be closely monitoring the reading of May’s personal consumption expenditures price index on Thursday morning, as it serves as the Federal Reserve’s favoured measure of inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipate that the headline index will increase by 0.5% month-over-month, a marginal uptick from April’s 0.4% increase, and by 4.1% year-over-year, surpassing April’s growth of 3.8%.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the consensus anticipates a 0.3% month-over-month increase in core PCE, translating to a 3.4% rise year-over-year. Both estimates exceed the core PCE readings from April, which were recorded at 0.2% on a monthly basis and 3.3% over the preceding 12 months. Treasury yields experienced a slight increase in the early hours of Thursday as investors anticipated the upcoming data release, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rising by 1 basis point to reach 4.412%. Traders will closely monitor the final first-quarter gross domestic product reading, along with the data from May’s personal income and preliminary durable goods orders indexes, in addition to initial jobless claims for the week ending June 20.

Asia-Pacific markets concluded the trading session with a notable upward trend. South Korea’s Kospi led gains, increasing by 5.42% to 8,930.30, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 experienced a rise of 4.61% to 72,366.34. Australia’s benchmark index was down 0.68% to 8,748.70. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong experienced a decline of 1.6% during the final hour of trading, whereas the mainland’s CSI 300 saw an increase of 1.56%, reaching 5,020.1. Gains in chip stocks propelled equity markets upward in Europe during early trading, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 increasing by 0.61%.