Investing.com - Futures linked to the main U.S. stock indices are mixed, as investors prepare for the first trading session of the fourth quarter after they endured a roller-coaster September for financial markets. Micron unveils an upbeat revenue outlook, underlining strong demand for artificial intelligence memory chips. Nike is set to report its latest results, with investors keen to see progress in the athletic apparel brand’s turnaround strategy.

1. Futures mixed

U.S. stock futures hovered around both sides of the flatline on Thursday. By 03:34 ET (07:34 GMT), the Dow futures contract had fallen by 219 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 futures had inched up by 4 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had increased by 161 points, or 0.5%.

The main averages on Wall Street also finished in mixed fashion on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both retreating, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced.

U.S. Treasury yields once again rose, despite cooler-than-anticipated August personal consumption expenditures data sparking a brief surge of optimism around the path of inflation. Traders are now looking ahead to the release of key U.S. employment data for September, which could help outline the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate trajectory.

For the month, which has been marked by ongoing tensions in the Middle East and a deep bond-market rout, the S&P fell 0.45%, the Dow dropped 4.29%, and the Nasdaq gained 1.86%.

Both the Nasdaq and S&P managed to secure a second consecutive quarterly advance, and the fifth in the last six. Meanwhile, the Dow dipped in the July-September period.

2. Micron results

Shares of Micron edged higher in extended hours trading, after the chipmaker unveiled a quarterly revenue forecast that topped expectations.

The Idaho-based group, which has been a major beneficiary of runaway AI-memory-chip demand, added that customers had increased their commitments under its long-term supply agreements to $32 billion, up from $22 billion reported in June.

Businesses have been racing to get their hands on memory chips as they push to rapidly build out the data centers powering AI models, leading to a shortage of these processors that has helped drive up their price. Micron, whose clients include AI chip giant Nvidia, has reaped the benefits.

Against this backdrop, Micron’s stock price has more than tripled so far this year, giving the company a $1 trillion market capitalization and stoking hype that AI could propel further growth.

3. Nike to report

Nike shares, on the other hand, were pointing down slightly after-hours, with the athletic apparel titan due to release its latest results following the closing bell.

The returns will likely be the latest test of CEO Elliott Hill’s overhaul of the company by refocusing on sports like soccer and running, enhancing relationships with wholesalers, and rolling out new products. Yet Nike has continued to grapple with faltering sales, a lack of innovation, and intensifying competition.

Investors appear to be becoming impatient for Elliott, who took over at the helm of Nike almost two years ago, to show progress in his plans. So far this year, shares of Nike have slumped by more than 44%.

This has threatened to dislodge Nike from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. S&P Dow Jones already removed Nike from the S&P 100 this month as part of a quarterly rebalancing, ending an 18-year tenure on the blue-chip index.

4. U.S. manufacturing ISM data ahead

On the economic calendar, a tracker of business activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector will be in the spotlight.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for September is seen coming in at 54.8, compared to 54.6 in August. A reading above 50 denotes expansion. Last month, the measure declined, with some analysts highlighting a potentially fading boost from a rush of companies front-loading orders to avoid price hikes due to the Iran war.

At the same time, a gauge of prices paid by these business is anticipated to climb to 72.9 from 71.1, suggesting lingering inflationary pressures as manufacturers fret over the impact of the Middle East conflict and tariffs.

5. Tencent leases 100,000 chips from Oracle for $7 billion - FT

Tencent signed a $7 billion lease deal with Oracle to gain access to about 100,000 advanced artificial intelligence chips, as the Chinese internet giant races to catch up in the AI race, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Tencent agreed to a five-year lease across multiple Oracle data centers in southeast Asia, the FT reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

The transaction is Tencent’s largest ever overseas lease agreement, and grants the Chinese internet and gaming firm access to about 100,000 advanced chips that were not available in China, the FT report said. The deal is worth $7 billion with upfront payment of about 30%, the FT report said, and weighed on Tencent’s free cash flow in its second quarter earnings.

Shares of Oracle were higher in after-hours trading on Thursday.

(Reuters contributed reporting)

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