US stock futures fall, chipmakers sink as Micron underwhelms

Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures fell in evening deals on Wednesday, with major chipmaking stocks retreated after memory chip major Micron offered a somewhat middling outlook on earnings.

While Wall Street closed higher on Wednesday, trade was choppy as anticipation of key U.S. inflation data and the upcoming Presidential Debate kept investors to the sidelines. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.3% to 5,526.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.5% to 19,920.0 points by 19:15 ET (23:15 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.2% to 39,456.0 points.s 

Micron slides, other chipmakers follow after mixed earnings 

Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) fell nearly 8% in aftermarket trade, after the memory chip maker’s outlook for the current quarter somewhat underwhelmed. The chipmaker forecast current quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, in line with estimates. 

Micron’s quarterly earnings also blew past market expectations, on strong demand from AI, while the chipmaker forecast a strong profit for the current quarter. 

But the in-line revenue guidance disappointed investors who were expecting more, especially given that Micron more than doubled in value over the past year on hype over AI. The stock also had a strong run-up to its earnings. 

Other chipmaking stocks retreated tracking Micron, with market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) down nearly 2%. Chip designers Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) lost 1% each.

Wall Street sees choppy session ahead of more economic cues 

Wall Street indexes ended marginally higher on Wednesday, buoyed by Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) after it announced a major foray into generative AI. The firm also crossed the $2 trillion valuation mark. 

But overall trade was choppy as the summer holidays made for lower trading volumes.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 5,477.90 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.5% to 17,802.66 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged, rising slightly to 39,127.80 points. 

Investors stuck to the sidelines before more economic cues this week, chiefly from PCE price index data, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. The reading is due on Friday and is likely to factor into the outlook for interest rates.

Markets were also on edge before the first Presidential debate of the year, between Democrat and Republican front-runners Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The debate is set to take place on Thursday.