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Oil Prices Near Prewar Levels
Brent Crude Falls 0.2% to $73.70 a Barrel
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Key Takeaways:
- U.S. stocks rose June 25 as AI-driven chipmakers led gains, with Micron surging 19.4% and Qualcomm climbing after strong results and forecasts.
- The rally reflects easing concerns about high valuations as strong earnings and falling oil prices helped lower Treasury yields and stabilize inflation expectations.
- Investors are watching whether cooling oil prices and inflation sustain lower bond yields, which could support AI stocks facing pressure from elevated valuations.
NEW YORK — Another veer up the roller coaster for artificial intelligence stocks is pulling the U.S. market higher on June 25.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, slipped 0.2% to $73.70 and is near its roughly $72 price from just before the war with Iran. It has come well off its highs above $100 caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz because of the war, which slowed the global flow of oil.
That jump in oil prices earlier this year sent inflation sharply higher, and a report showed that a measure of inflation hitting U.S. consumers accelerated to 4.1% last month from 3.8% in April. But that wasn’t any worse than economists expected, and the hope is that inflation may ease because of the drop-off in oil prices.
That helped the yield on the 10-year Treasury slip to 4.38% from 4.41% late June 24 and from 4.56% earlier this month.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to trim its loss for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 307 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.
Micron Technology helped lead the market after jumping 19.4%. The maker of memory chips for computers reported much stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and it gave a stronger growth forecast for the current quarter than Wall Street expected. That helped allay worries a bit that its stock had grown too expensive after coming into the day with a surge of 267% so far this year.
Trump: "gas prices aren't declining fast enough" GasBuddy data shows the decline is faster than it was in 2022 when gas prices reached a record $5/gal- here's comparison from the peak date and 31 days after: pic.twitter.com/VQlkCnlz4s — Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) June 25, 2026
Micron and AI stocks broadly have been under pressure recently because of worries that their profits can’t possibly keep pace with the tremendous rallies for their stock prices. But beyond Micron, Qualcomm said late June 24 that the acceleration of the AI era is forcing it to upgrade forecasts for its own growth in upcoming years.
The chip company said it expects its revenue outside of handsets, including data centers, to hit $40 billion in its fiscal year of 2029, roughly double its prior target. Qualcomm’s stock rose 9.7%.
The broad U.S. stock market also got a lift from easing Treasury yields in the bond market. They regressed after oil prices dipped and reports showed inflation is behaving pretty much as economists expected.
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High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on AI winners.
In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi jumped 5.4% after its own AI winners shot higher, including a 13.1% surge for SK Hynix.
Other markets also rallied, including gains of 4.6% for Japan’s Nikkei 225 and 0.8% for the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100. A 1.4% drop for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
