Finance

The semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors received a substantial boost following a strong earnings performance from Micron Technology Inc. The memory giant exceeded Wall Street's expectations for its fourth quarter and raised its guidance for the upcoming period. This positive outlook helped lift major chip manufacturing equities, reinforcing investor confidence in ongoing AI infrastructure spending.

Disruptions in energy transportation and geopolitical friction continue to keep crude prices elevated, heavily impacting bond and equity environments. Although recent reports showed an improvement in Middle Eastern supply flows that temporarily capped sharp daily gains, underlying energy inflation remains high. Traders are heavily pricing in the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will implement additional interest rate hikes by the end of the year to combat sticky pricing.

Gold futures displayed a muted performance, heavily pressured by the macroeconomic strength of the U.S. dollar and high government bond yields. Despite receiving temporary relief from softer-than-expected inflation metrics, the precious metal logged a significant decline through the preceding weeks. High interest rate expectations remain a prominent headwind for non-yielding bullion, capping its immediate upside potential.