Stocks open higher
The three major averages opened Thursday’s session in the green.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.8% and 1%, respectively, shortly after the opening bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 316 points, or 0.6%.
— Sean Conlon
Trip.com Group shares fall
The U.S. listed shares of Trip.com Group tumbled 12% on Thursday, after the travel service provider posted first quarter Non-GAAP EPADS of CNY5.73 (USD$0.84), lower than the StreetAccount consensus estimate of CNY6.07 (USD$0.89).
The company also issued a disappointing second quarter revenue forecast of +3-8% compared to the prior year’s CNY14.86 billion, implying CNY15.31-16.05 billion. That fell short of the CNY17.19 billion FactSet consensus estimate.
Trip.com Group, 1-day
Micron and Wendy’s among the stocks moving before the bell
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon delivers a keynote speech at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan June 1, 2026.
Ann Wang | Reuters
Here are some of the names making moves in the premarket:
- Micron — The memory chipmaker jumped 17% after its third-quarter earnings blew past expectations. Micron saw adjusted earnings of $25.11 per share, topping the $20.78 expected from analysts polled by LSEG. The company’s revenue quadrupled to $41.46 billion from $9.3 billion a year prior. Analysts had expected revenue of $35.85 billion.
- Qualcomm — The stock rose 9% after the semiconductor builder nearly doubled its projection for 2029 non-handset revenue to $40 billion, up from a prior forecast of $22 billion.
- Wendy’s — Shares popped 7%, adding to their more than 25% rally from the previous session, as retail enthusiasm continues to drive gains in the fast food chain.
- Bio-Techne — The life sciences company agreed to be acquired by drugmaker Merck for $73 per share. The stock rallied 19%.
Read the full list here.
— Michelle Fox
Core PCE hits highest level since October 2023
The core personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.4% in May from the year-earlier period, hitting its highest level since October 2023. However, the number was in line with expectations.
— Fred Imbert
Darden Restaurants falls after weaker-than-expected guidance
Darden Restaurants in its fiscal fourth-quarter financial report delivered a slight earnings beat and revenue about in-line with expectations, though its stock was falling on the company’s outlook for its fiscal 2027.
The Olive Garden and Seasons 52 owner forecasts earnings of between $11.10 to $11.35 in fiscal 2027. That is below consensus estimates by analysts polled by FactSet for $11.39 in earnings per share in the fiscal year.
Same-store sales in the fourth quarter at Olive Garden also came in weaker-than-expected, rising just 2.4% in the quarter.
Darden was down 2% in premarket trading Thursday.
Darden Restaurants 5-day.
Wendy’s surges again as meme craze continues
Signage for a Wendy’s restaurant location in Brampton, Ontario, on May 27, 2026.
Mike Campbell | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Wendy’s shares popped 13%, adding to their more than 25% rally from the previous session, as retail enthusiasm continues to drive gains in the fast food chain. Thursday’s advance puts the stock up nearly 32% for the week.
WEN this week
Micron stock jumps over 16% in premarket trading after blockbuster earnings
Micron soared in premarket trading on Thursday after the memory maker reported blockbuster third-quarter earnings as the AI boom causes demand for memory to surge.
The company’s revenue more than quadrupled from $9.3 billion a year earlier to $41.46 billion in its fiscal third quarter, it reported on Wednesday. Revenue came in higher than analyst expectations of nearly $36 billion, according to LSEG consensus estimates.
The company is now forecasting revenue of about $50 billion for the current quarter, an increase from $11.3 billion in the prior year. Its stock was last seen up 16.4% in premarket trading and rose a staggering 723% over the past year, pushing the company’s market cap to $1.2 trillion.
Micron shares over the past year.
European markets move higher as Micron earnings beat lifts semiconductor stocks
Germany, Hesse, Frankfurt am Main, Börsenviertel, Börsenplatz at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the bull & bear statues symbolize the falling and rising of the stock market.
Manfred Gottschalk | Stone | Getty Images
Europe-listed shares rebounded on Thursday morning, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 adding around 0.5% an hour into the session.
The regional Stoxx 600 Tech index jumped 2.4% in early trading, after sentiment was lifted following Micron’s earnings beat on Wednesday.
Semiconductor materials maker Soitec led gains, jumping 6.5%, with Infineon, ASMI and Be Semiconductor all adding more than 5%.
Elsewhere, low-cost carrier EasyJet jumped by around 5.5% after the group rejected a fourth takeover bid worth $6.5 billion from Clearlake Capital. The private equity group may come back with yet another bid after EasyJet agreed to provide Clearlake with limited access to commercial information.
— Chloe Taylor
South Korea, Japan stocks advance amid broad gains in other Asian stocks
Japanese and South Korean stocks advanced higher in Thursday’s trading session, recovering from a tech rout that occurred earlier in the week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.61% to 72,366.34, with tech giant SoftBank up 7.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.42% to 8,930.30. Among South Korean stocks, SK Hynix surged 13% while Samsung gained 5.29%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index declined 1.6% in the last hour of trade, while the mainland’s CSI 300 was up 1.56% to 5,020.1. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.68% to 8,748.70.
— Justina Lee
HSBC survey shows investors turn to AI for ideas but still rely on advisers to make final decisions
Investors continue to rely on professional financial advisers for their final investment decisions, even as artificial intelligence becomes more widely used in the initial stages of research, according to a survey by HSBC.
The survey, which polled around 10,000 affluent and high-net-worth individuals across 10 markets, found that 62% use financial professionals and institutions as their main source of investment ideas.
About 37% of respondents said human financial experts had the greatest influence on their final investment decisions, three times as many as those who cited AI, according to HSBC.
— Justina Lee
Read the full story here
Trip.com’s shares fall over 6% on lower 1Q net income
Thomas Fuller | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Shares of Trip.com in Hong Kong fell more than 9% after the online travel service provider posted 41% decline in its first-quarter net income on Wednesday.
Net income for its first quarter of 2026 was 2.5 billion yuan ($367 million), compared with 4.3 billion yuan a year ago, partly weighed by share-based compensation charges.
“The Company is and has been the subject of investigations or inquiries by national authorities regarding competition law matters, consumer protection issues, and other areas,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
Trip.com received a notice of investigation from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation in January over alleged monopolistic practices.
The company warned that the investigation findings could result in a significant fine or other financial penalties, which could lead to changes to business practice and affect its financial position.
Shares last traded at 9.56% lower at 319.80 Hong Kong dollars.
— Justina Lee
Alibaba’s shares fell over 4% amid accusations by peer Anthropic
The Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba fell by over 4% after Anthropic accused the Chinese tech company of attempting to extract its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Anthropic sent a letter to U.S. officials accusing Alibaba of “brazenly” and “illicitly” trying to extract its AI capabilities, claiming that the company carried out “the largest known distillation attack on Anthropic to date.”
“We believe combating the threat of illicit distillation requires coordinated action between government and industry, and we will continue working with Congress and the Administration to maintain American AI leadership,” an Anthropic spokesperson said in a statement.
Distillation is an AI training method in which a small, less capable model is built from the outputs of an existing, stronger model.
Shares of Alibaba last traded 4.78% lower at 94.65 Hong Kong dollars.
— Justina Lee
Oil prices erase wartime gains as supply concerns ease with Hormuz tanker traffic resuming
In an aerial view, oil storage tanks are seen at the Sunoco LP Fuel Supply Terminal on June 15, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Oil prices erased wartime gains on Thursday as investors bet global crude supplies would improve after tankers that had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for months began leaving the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. crude for August delivery dropped 1.66% to around $69 a barrel and Brent declined 1.79% to under $73 a barrel, hovering at levels seen before the Middle East war broke out in late February.
More than 20 oil tankers carrying about 35 million barrels of crude have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the U.S. and Iran reached an agreement to reopen the key shipping route, according to trade-tracking firm Kpler.
The non-Iranian vessels had been stranded in the Persian Gulf for more than three months after Tehran effectively shut the waterway early in the conflict. Most are expected to arrive at destinations in Asia by early August.
— Lee Ying Shan
SK Hynix surges 11% after filing for blockbuster Nasdaq listing
Shares of South Korean chip giant SK Hynix surged 11% on Thursday after the company said it plans to raise as much as $29.4 billion in a U.S. stock market listing.
The company plans to issue 17.79 million new shares in the form of American depositary receipts through a Nasdaq listing, according to a regulatory filing. The offer could raise 45.45 trillion won ($29.65 billion).
Trading is expected to begin July 10, although the company said the timetable remains subject to change.
SK Hynix said the ADR listing would broaden its investor base and allow “its true corporate value to be properly evaluated.”
“We expect to elevate our status as a global company by broadening our touchpoints in the United States, the epicenter of AI technological innovation,” the company said.
—Lee Ying Shan
South Korea’s Kospi leads gains as Asia-Pacific markets trade broadly higher
Currency dealers monitor exchange rates as an electronic screen (top) shows South Korea’s benchmark stock index (KOSPI) in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on June 23, 2026.
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets traded broadly higher early Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi led gains with an advance of more than 5% near the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.32%.
Shares of SK Hynix rose more than 10%, and Samsung gained about 5%. South Korea triggered the Sidecar market-stabilization mechanism due to the moves.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.28% while the Topix rose 0.76%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was marginally lower.
—Justina Lee
Asia-Pacific markets set to open mixed following tech rout; U.S. key inflation reading in focus
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mixed on Thursday, as investors keep an eye on an upcoming key U.S. inflation reading for May, while recovering from a tech rout earlier in the week.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was poised to rise, with the Chicago futures contract at 71,480 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 71,060, compared with the index’s previous close of 69,174.97.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 23,322, lower than the index’s last close of 23,412.18.
In Australia, futures last traded at 8,810, while the S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,808.40.
Tensions in the Middle East continue to ease amid reports that at least 20 oil tankers stranded with 35 million barrels have exited the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran and the U.S. agreed to open the waterway, according to data from Kpler.
“Iran will not have the ability to close the Strait of Hormuz going forward,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a New York conference.
— Justina Lee
Six of the 11 GICS sectors end Wednesday higher
Six of the 11 GICS sectors rose on Wednesday to end the session higher.
Gains were led by industrials stocks, which rose 1.18%. This performance was followed by names in the utilities, consumer discretionary and healthcare cohorts, which respectively added 1.05%, 0.80% and 0.79%.
On the other hand, energy stocks fared the worst on Wednesday, shedding 1.73%. Investors also continued to sell information technology stocks, sending the sector down 0.64% and making it the session’s second-worst performer.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Chip stocks jump in after hours, boosted by Micron
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Chip stocks jumped in Wednesday’s after-hours session, lifted by Micron.
Shares of Micron surged almost 15% after the chipmaker reported a fiscal third-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines.
MU 5D chart
In its last quarter, Micron earned an adjusted $25.11 per share on $41.46 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting earnings of $20.78 on revenue of $35.84 billion.
The company also guided for current-quarter revenue of $50 billion, up from $11.3 billion a year earlier and above the $43.58 billion forecast. Meanwhile, cloud memory revenue was up over 300% to $13.77 billion.
Fellow semiconductor stock Qualcomm also gained 14% after raising some of its prior targets for its full year 2029.
Other chip names, such as Sandisk, Western Digital, Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials rose in sympathy with Qualcomm’s upgrade and Micron’s latest earnings report.
— Lisa Kailai Han