$MU lifts chips as stocks edge up and bond yields ease

Yields backed off, but borrowing remains expensive

Wall Street recovered from its morning losses as Treasury yields retreated and chip stocks strengthened, Yahoo Finance reported. The S&P 500 finished at 7,666.45. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow barely cleared the flat line, while small caps gained 0.35%.

The Treasury’s official 10-year par yield fell 5 basis points to 5.24% from 5.29%. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. That is some relief, rather than cheap borrowing. The VIX ended at 16.39, up 0.05 point; it measures expected S&P 500 volatility, not market direction.

Factories kept growing while their costs accelerated

September’s ISM manufacturing index slipped to 54.5 from 54.6. Readings above 50 indicate expansion. The uncomfortable part was the prices index: 77.9, versus 71.1 in August. Manufacturers reported faster cost increases even though overall growth slowed slightly.

The labor picture also resisted a slowdown story. Initial unemployment claims fell by 1,000 to 197,000 for the week ended September 26. These weekly claims track applications for benefits, not all unemployment. Tomorrow’s payrolls, unemployment rate and wages will give a broader view of hiring and inflation pressure.

Memory demand and higher oil favored chips and energy

Micron ($MU) closed at $1,097.39, up 3.03%, after Wednesday’s earnings. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $54.23 billion and adjusted earnings were $33.42 per share. Its next-quarter revenue outlook is $61.5 billion, plus or minus $1.5 billion. That is management guidance, not revenue already earned.

Energy led the SPDR sector ETFs, followed by technology; health care and communication services lagged. November WTI futures showed $92.91 per barrel, up 2.75%, in the delayed 16:59 ET snapshot. December gold was $4,207.80 per ounce, up 0.50%, at the same time. The dollar index showed 102.01, up 0.55%, at 17:24 ET. These are snapshots, not asserted futures settlements.

Nike’s evening results show a turnaround still taking time

After the close, Nike ($NKE) reported $11.2 billion of quarterly revenue, down 4%, and diluted earnings of $0.48 per share. Gross margin improved to 42.8%. The company still expects fiscal-year revenue to fall by a high-single-digit percentage.

The gap between improving margins and falling sales matters for the turnaround. Tonight’s financial figures are confirmed in the company’s release; no after-hours share-price move is asserted here.

Your watchlist

The largest watchlist moves were uneven. $CRDO and $CDNS joined the technology advance, while $ASTS fell. Their closing moves are verified; no company-specific catalyst was established for those three names. The broader chip rally is context, not proof of what caused each gain.

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