The S&P 500 opened higher on Thursday as gains in chip and software stocks offset a surge in Treasury yields to multi-decade highs. Strong earnings from Micron and Accenture, plus a new AI model from Alphabet, drove the advance, even as September left the index down for the month.
The S&P 500 gained 19.39 points, or 0.25%, to 7,670.93 at the opening bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.18% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.46%. The move followed a premarket session in which S&P 500 E-minis traded up 0.23% alongside gains in Nvidia and Lam Research.
Chip and software earnings lift sentiment
Micron Technology's quarterly results anchored the advance. The company reported adjusted earnings of $33.42 per share on revenue of $54.23 billion, beating consensus estimates of $31.61 per share and $51.07 billion. For the current quarter, Micron guided to roughly $61.5 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $38.15 per share.
Accenture also moved markets after its results beat expectations. The consulting firm earned $3.29 per share on revenue of $18.68 billion, topping analyst forecasts of $3.18 per share, and its shares rallied 17% on the report. Alphabet added to the bullish tone, with shares up almost 2% in early trading after the company unveiled its Gemini 4 Argon AI model.
Treasury yields test the rally
But the advance came against a backdrop of surging bond yields. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit 5.3423%, its highest level since 2002, a day after Treasuries logged their worst quarter since 1994. The Cboe volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge, climbed to a two-week high of 16.39 points.
According to Reuters: "The bond market is weighing heavily on the majority of stocks." Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, added that the pressure was falling less on stocks with the largest index weightings.
Rising inflation and government borrowing costs are feeding the move in yields, though traders were pricing in a 63% chance the Federal Reserve holds rates steady this month, based on CME Group's FedWatch tool.
September left the index lower
Thursday's gains followed a rocky September for the S&P 500, which dropped 0.5% for the month as investors weighed higher oil prices and climbing yields. The Dow lost 4.3% over the same period, while the Nasdaq gained 1.9% on the strength of technology shares.
Sources: CNBC, Investing.com, Investing.com
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