Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.9%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.4%), and DJIA (-0.3%) sit a touch above session lows as the market enters the final hour of the session. 

Investors will receive the earnings report of Micron (MU 223.65, -8.86, -3.81%) after the close today, which is widely viewed as one of the most anticipated earnings releases of the week. 

The stock is up 166% year-to-date, though shares have cooled 16% from record highs hit on December 10. The recent pullback reflects profit-taking after a massive run-up, alongside jitteriness regarding new regulatory pressures in China.

Strong reports from peers (Samsung, SK Hynix) suggest the memory upcycle is intact. The key will be the 2Q26 guidance and margin outlook—specifically, whether HBM pricing power is strong enough to overshadow the regulatory headwinds in China. If MU confirms 2026 HBM visibility remains robust, the bull thesis stays firmly in place. Furthermore, as a critical bellwether for the hardware trade, MU's ability to execute on its HBM roadmap will likely set the tone for the entire semiconductor sector heading into 2026. Investors should remain disciplined, however, as the stock's premium valuation with a P/E north of 30x leaves little room for error; anything short of a "beat-and-raise" that explicitly quantifies the AI revenue tailwind could spark further volatility.

Micron's loss today is similar to that of NVIDIA (NVDA 171.62, -6.10, -3.43%) and the broader PHLX Semiconductor Index (-3.6%).