Wall Street Stabilizes as Oil Falls, Micron Surges on AI Demand

U.S. equities steadied on Wednesday, recovering from an AI-driven selloff. The S&P 500 finished flat near 7,350, while the Dow rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.4%. Falling oil prices helped ease inflation concerns: Brent crude dropped below $74 a barrel and WTI fell 4.5% to $69.94, as progress in U.S.-Iran peace talks reduced geopolitical risk. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 9 basis points to 4.40%, and traders have pared back expectations for further Fed tightening, with only about 40 basis points of rate hikes now priced in.

Micron surged in after-hours trading after issuing a revenue forecast that beat Wall Street estimates, driven by surging AI-related memory demand. Data center expansion and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) remain key drivers. JPMorgan raised its year-end S&P 500 target to 7,800, citing strong earnings and the potential for a U.S.-Iran peace deal.

In corporate news, OpenAI unveiled its first custom AI chip developed with Broadcom. Google faces fresh AI talent losses as two leading researchers plan to join Anthropic. Anthropic accused Alibaba of trying to access its Claude model through thousands of fraudulent accounts. Cerebras shares fell after a disappointing sales forecast, while SK Hynix is seeking a $29.4 billion U.S. listing amid strong investor demand.

Market close: S&P 500 flat, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq 100 -0.4%. Bitcoin -2.9% to $60,577, Ether -3.4% to $1,606, Gold -2.9%. The narrative has shifted from Middle East supply fears back to AI earnings and the Fed policy outlook.