U.S. stocks traded around the flat line on Thursday as Treasury yields pulled back from multiyear highs and investors returned to artificial intelligence-related shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near unchanged, while the S&P 500 gained about 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite rose roughly 0.2%. The 10-year Treasury yield eased to 5.24% after briefly climbing above 5.3% earlier in the session, reaching levels not seen in more than two decades.
The move came after a difficult period for the bond market, with rising yields continuing to put pressure on equities and other risk assets.
AI stocks regain momentum
Technology stocks found support as investors responded to strong results from Micron. The memory-chip maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations and raised its outlook for the first quarter.
Micron posted adjusted earnings of $33.42 per share on $54.23 billion in revenue, compared with analyst expectations of $31.83 per share and $51.49 billion in revenue.
D.A. Davidson technology research head Gil Luria said the results were notable given how high expectations had already become, arguing that strong demand for memory and constrained supply could continue supporting Micron and the broader data-center buildout.
Other developments also boosted enthusiasm around the AI sector. A Bloomberg report that Anthropic could pursue an initial public offering as soon as mid-November helped lift technology stocks during Thursday’s session.
Broadcom also emerged as a major part of the AI investment story. Reuters reported that the chip company is lending Anthropic up to $42 billion to lease chips, underscoring the increasingly interconnected financing relationships across the AI industry.
Bond yields and oil remain market concerns
Despite the rebound in technology shares, elevated borrowing costs and energy prices continued to weigh on sentiment.
Brent crude rose about 3% to above $100 a barrel, while U.S. crude traded around $92. Higher energy prices can add to inflation concerns, potentially complicating the outlook for interest rates.
Manufacturing data provided another signal that price pressures remain present. S&P Global’s final September manufacturing PMI rose to 55.9 from 53.9 in August, while the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index came in at 54.5.
ISM’s prices-paid index climbed to 77.9, up 6.8 percentage points from August.
The labor market, meanwhile, showed continued resilience. Initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 197,000 for the week ended Sept. 26, marking a fourth consecutive weekly decline. Investors are now awaiting Friday’s monthly employment report for a broader view of labor-market conditions.
