Global equity markets rebounded sharply on Thursday after Micron Technology reported quarterly earnings and revenue forecasts that far exceeded analyst expectations, and Qualcomm raised its annual revenue guidance and announced a data-centre chip partnership with Meta. The news catalysed a sharp rally in technology shares from Tokyo to Frankfurt, while oil prices extended their decline to levels last seen before the US-Iran conflict began, as tankers resumed passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Micron’s projection of $50 billion in fourth-quarter revenue and its disclosure that its entire stock of high-bandwidth memory chips for AI computing is sold out for this year eased investor concerns that massive AI infrastructure spending was not yet generating commensurate returns. Qualcomm’s upward revision of its non-mobile revenue target to $15 billion by 2029 added to the positive sentiment. Viewed from Asian trading floors, the results provided a catalyst for a sector that had suffered heavy selling earlier in the week. In South Korea, the Kospi surged 5.4% to a record close, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix; Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 4.6% as Advantest and Tokyo Electron soared. European technology stocks followed suit, with the Stoxx 600 tech sub-index up over 2%, and shares of Infineon, STMicroelectronics, and ASML all posting strong gains.

The rally was amplified by a fourth consecutive day of falling oil prices. Brent crude slipped below $73 a barrel, undercutting the $72.48 close recorded on 27 February, the day before US and Israeli strikes on Iran began. Maritime tracking firms reported dozens of vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, signalling a gradual normalisation of Gulf oil shipments. Analysts in London noted that the decline eased stagflation fears and reduced pressure on central banks to accelerate rate hikes. Energy stocks were among the session’s laggards, with Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Eni all declining, while European defence shares such as Leonardo and Avio also retreated.

The macroeconomic backdrop remained in focus. The US personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 4.1% in May, in line with expectations and marking a three-year high. However, with oil prices retreating, market participants in New York assessed that the reading was unlikely to prompt additional tightening beyond what is already priced in. First-quarter US GDP was revised up to 2.1% from an initial 1.6%, further allaying concerns of a stagflationary slowdown. The next milestone for investors will be the Fed’s policy meeting minutes and any further signals on the trajectory of interest rates.