Micron Earnings and Cooler CPI Reignite Risk Appetite, Lift Stocks Broadly

U.S. equities finished higher across the board as a powerful earnings report from Micron Technology and a cooler-than-expected inflation reading helped revive risk appetite, particularly within the AI and semiconductor space. The S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.4%, and the DJIA added 0.1%.

The November CPI report, while unusual in that it lacked month-over-month detail due to missing October data, still delivered a constructive signal. Year-over-year inflation slowed meaningfully, with headline CPI easing to 2.7% from 3.0% and core CPI decelerating to 2.6% from 3.0%. The softer inflation backdrop provided a supportive macro tailwind to a market that was already leaning higher following Micron’s results.

Micron’s earnings proved to be the primary catalyst for the session. The company decisively beat expectations on both revenue and earnings and issued a Q2 outlook that exceeded even optimistic forecasts. The results helped restore confidence in the AI-linked memory cycle and triggered a broad rally across semiconductor names. The PHLX Semiconductor Index rose 2.5%, while peer stocks such as Sandisk, Seagate Technology, and Western Digital posted gains ranging from roughly 5% to 6%.

The strength in chipmakers pushed the information technology sector up 1.4%, placing it among the day’s top performers. Consumer discretionary stocks led the sector leaderboard with a 1.8% gain, supported by strong moves in Tesla and Amazon. Additional support came from lululemon athletica, which rallied after reports that Elliott Investment Management has accumulated a sizable stake, and Starbucks, which climbed as early signs of progress from its turnaround strategy boosted investor confidence.

Communication services also participated in the advance, rising 1.5% alongside gains in several mega-cap constituents. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF added 1.3%, enabling the market-cap-weighted S&P 500 to outperform its equal-weighted counterpart, which rose a more modest 0.2%.

The rally was not without some late-session churn. Five S&P 500 sectors finished lower by the close, though most of those declines followed gains in the prior session, reinforcing the market’s recent back-and-forth character. Energy was the notable laggard, sliding 1.4%, while losses elsewhere were relatively contained.

Smaller-cap stocks also recovered from yesterday’s pullback, with the Russell 2000 gaining 0.6% and the S&P Mid Cap 400 advancing 0.5%.

Despite today’s strength, the broader picture remains mixed. While technology, semiconductors, and mega-cap growth stocks clearly outperformed, these areas still carry week-to-date and month-to-date losses, underscoring lingering volatility and uneven leadership. Even so, the session marked an important technical milestone, with the S&P 500 reclaiming its 50-day moving average at 6,765.55.

In sum, Micron’s earnings and easing inflation pressures delivered a timely boost, helping the major averages secure a clean win and restoring some momentum after a choppy stretch for equities.

Our FTinvest 11 model portfolio posted a modest pullback in today’s session, declining 0.55% and closing at 932.03. The index spent most of the day under pressure as the broader market cooled after recent gains, with profit-taking emerging across several growth-oriented names.

Unlike the sharp swings seen earlier this month, today’s decline was orderly and did not reflect broad-based deterioration in underlying trends. Several components held up relatively well, helping limit the downside, while weakness was concentrated in a narrow pocket rather than across the portfolio as a whole.

From a technical perspective, FTinvest 11 remains comfortably near recent highs despite the setback, and the pullback appears consistent with normal consolidation following the strong advance that carried the index to new record levels earlier this week. Market conditions continue to favor selective positioning rather than aggressive risk-taking, and today’s action fits that pattern.

Overall, the session represented a pause rather than a reversal. FTinvest 11 remains well-positioned relative to the broader market, with the longer-term trend intact as the index digests recent gains and awaits the next directional catalyst.