Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, United States, December 17, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
U.S. stock futures rose Thursday as Wall Street weighed the latest inflation data, which came in lighter than expected.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 grew by 0.7%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures added 1.3%. Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 188 points, or 0.4%.
Micron technology surged 13% in premarket trading after the semiconductor sector beat Wall Street estimates for top and bottom lines for the fiscal first quarter and offered strong revenue guidance for the current period.
November’s delayed Consumer Price Index report — the first released publicly since the U.S. government shutdown ended last month — showed the overall annual inflation rate was 2.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 12-month rate for the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was 2.6%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected the headline inflation rate and core CPI to come in at 3.1% and 3%, respectively.
The report, which did not include month-to-month percentage changes, was pushed back from its original Dec. 10 release date. The BLS had canceled the publication of the October inflation report in late November due to the longest shutdown of the US government.
Stocks are emerging from a tough trading session, pressured by steep losses in major semiconductor names tied to the artificial intelligence trade. THE S&P500 and stock of 30 Dow closed their fourth negative day. THE Nasdaq Composite lagged the three major indexes, losing 1.8%.
During the regular session, Oracle fell more than 5% after the Financial Times reported that the cloud infrastructure company’s largest investor had pulled out of its $10 billion data center in Michigan.
Concerns about high investment costs behind massive data center deals, such as Oracle’s, sent shivers through the market and led several chipmakers to lose sympathy throughout the session. Broadcom lost 4.5%, while shares of Nvidia And Advanced microdevices also fell.
Although investors have recently turned away from tech names, the sector is on track to finish 2025 up about 19%.
“Oracle’s bad day continues to add to the recent tech jitters, but it’s important to step back and consider that tech is still up 20% for the year and is coming off one of its longest winning streaks in history,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group. “The bottom line: a little air escapes from the balloon, but the overall market is suspended, all things considered.”
