S&P 500 Futures Today – Wall Street isn’t giving up that easily. Even after a bruising session for Big Tech — Apple cratered more than 6%, Microsoft shed over 3%, and the Nasdaq posted its fourth consecutive day of declines — U.S. stock futures nudged higher overnight, signaling that the market’s backbone may be stronger than the headline numbers suggest.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into Friday’s session.

Futures Snapshot — Late Thursday, June 25

The divergence tells its own story: the Dow, heavily weighted toward industrials and financials, is holding firm. The Nasdaq, still dragged by tech pain, can’t find its footing.

Thursday’s Closing Scoreboard

• The Dow is now on track for three straight winning weeks, with industrials, healthcare, and financials doing the heavy lifting.
• The Nasdaq is heading into its third consecutive week in the red — its first four-day losing streak since February 2026.
• The S&P 500 is also poised to close the week lower, caught between tech weakness and strength elsewhere.

Why Is Big Tech Selling Off?

Apple (AAPL) — Down ~6.1% Thursday

The tech giant’s week went from bad to worse. Apple announced price hikes on select Mac and iPad products, blaming surging memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI data center boom. The increases are significant:

• MacBook Neo: New entry price of $699 (up from $599)
• M3 Ultra Mac Studio: Now $5,299 — a $1,300 jump from the previous $3,999

This marks Apple’s fifth consecutive session of declines. Analyst Gene Munster called it an overreaction, but the market hasn’t blinked. AAPL remains one of the biggest weights on both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Microsoft (MSFT) — Down ~3.2% Thursday

Microsoft confirmed it’s raising Xbox console prices due to surging component costs:

• 512GB Xbox model: Up $100
• 1TB Xbox model: Up $150

“Unlike phones, computers, or speakers, consoles are typically not sold at a profit,” Microsoft noted — which made the move even more jarring for investors. Following the announcement, Stifel cut its price target on MSFT to $400 from $415, maintaining a Hold rating. MSFT has now hit a 52-week low, according to post-session data.

The Bigger Picture — A “Volatile Flavor” of Tech

“This is a market that we think is quite set up to test conviction. Specifically, semiconductors and memory chip leaders represent a structurally more volatile flavor of tech than what we saw in the Magnificent Seven for the past several years,” said Julia Hermann, Global Market Strategist at New York Life Investment Management, on CNBC’s Closing Bell.

Beyond Apple and Microsoft, Amazon fell more than 3%, Meta slid over 2%, and the rest of the Magnificent Seven also ended Thursday in the red.

The Bright Side: Chips Are Still Ripping

Not everything in tech is bleeding. The semiconductor side of the trade is on fire:

• Micron Technology (MU) — Surged nearly +16% after blowing past Q3 earnings expectations. Adjusted EPS came in at $25.11, versus the $20.78 analyst consensus (LSEG). Revenue also crushed forecasts.
• SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) — Rode Micron’s coattails to a jaw-dropping +21% gain at close. Citigroup raised its price target, calling SNDK a top beneficiary of the memory boom.
• Qualcomm (QCOM) — Also edged higher, benefiting from the broader chip momentum.

“Micron’s results suggest investors remain willing to look through short-term volatility as long as the earnings outlook justifies elevated valuations,” noted one analyst cited by TheStreet.

Hot Inflation Data: PCE Hits 31-Month High

The market’s resilience is being tested not just by tech but by the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

May PCE Index Reading:

• Headline PCE (annualized): +4.1% — the highest level since October 2023
• Core PCE (excl. food & energy): +3.4% annualized; +0.3% month-over-month

This is not the data the Fed — or the market — wanted to see. Rate cut expectations have been repriced sharply. Julia Hermann captured the mood: “You pair that with an astonishing repricing in Fed expectations — not just the what, but the why of why the Fed might be hiking next — and you have a candidly volatile environment.”

Wall Street is now recalibrating. With inflation still running hot, the conversation has quietly shifted from “when will the Fed cut?” to “will the Fed hike?”

Geopolitical Wildcard: Strait of Hormuz Tensions Return

Just when markets thought the Middle East was stabilizing, fresh reports emerged of Iran attacking a cargo vessel near Oman on Thursday. The incident threatens the Washington-Tehran peace deal signed just last week.

• Oil prices, however, continued to decline overnight — suggesting markets aren’t yet pricing in a major escalation.
• Brent crude at ~$74.75/barrel and WTI at ~$71.53/barrel remain well off their earlier 2026 highs.
• Any renewed disruption to Hormuz shipping lanes — through which roughly 20% of global oil passes — could change that picture quickly.

Stock Spotlight: 4 Names Driving the Conversation

BABA — Alibaba Group Holding (-4%+)

Anthropic publicly accused Alibaba of “illicitly” accessing its Claude AI model, sending BABA shares down more than 4% on Thursday. The accusation carries significant weight: Anthropic has reportedly written to the White House over the matter. For a Chinese tech giant already navigating regulatory scrutiny, this is another headline investors can’t ignore.

MSTR — Strategy Inc. (Down ~9.4%, Hits 52-Week Low)

The Bitcoin treasury company had a brutal session. MSTR fell 9.35% to close at $94.13, touching a 52-week intraday low of $92.28 — a staggering collapse from its 52-week high of $457.22. Bitcoin itself slid toward $59,200 during the selloff before recovering to the $61K range after Micron’s earnings provided some relief. The preferred share STRC also hit a 52-week low at $80.84, now trading well below its $100 par value. Critics are pointing to a structural “doom loop” — the more MSTR falls, the less capital Saylor has to buy Bitcoin or service debt.

SNDK — SanDisk Corp. (+21%+ at Close)

The standout winner of Thursday’s session. Citigroup named SNDK a top beneficiary of Micron’s blowout results, issuing a price target hike that sparked a wave of buying. Memory chip names are becoming the market’s new momentum trade as AI demand for storage and compute shows no sign of slowing.

FIG — Figma Inc. (Down ~9%, Record Low)

Figma’s post-IPO honeymoon is over — for now. RBC Capital slashed its price target on FIG to $22 from $28, citing uncertainty over how the new AI-powered tools unveiled at Figma’s annual event will actually translate into revenue. Shares tumbled to a record low. Retail sentiment, however, remains notably bullish, suggesting some investors see value at these levels.

Global Markets at a Glance

• Asian markets: Mixed at Friday’s open. South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined; China’s SSE Composite edged higher; Australian stocks climbed.
• TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF): Down 0.07% overnight, with “bullish” sentiment on Stocktwits.
• DIA (SPDR Dow Jones ETF): Edging higher.
• SPY / QQQ: Both lower in the overnight session.

Market Sentiment & Outlook

The S&P 500 is up approximately 9% year-to-date in 2026, and Wall Street’s consensus still sees upside — with full-year earnings growth estimated at +23% (the fastest since 2021) and revenue growth of +11% (fastest since 2022), driven largely by AI infrastructure spending.

But risks are stacking up:

• Inflation running hotter than expected, threatening rate hike scenarios
• Big Tech multiple compression as hardware costs squeeze margins
• Geopolitical wildcards in the Middle East
• Tariff uncertainty — a new round expected after the 10% global tariff expires in late July

The market’s split personality — Dow climbing, Nasdaq sliding — reflects exactly this tension. Non-AI industrials and financials are absorbing capital rotating out of expensive growth names.

The question investors face heading into Friday’s open: Is this a healthy rotation, or is the crack in Big Tech about to get wider?

Key Levels to Watch on Friday

For more market updates and financial news, visit TruthsandNews.com

Disclaimer: This publication is entirely for informational and journalistic purposes and does not constitute formal financial, investment, or legal advice. All market investments carry inherent risks of capital loss. Always complete independent due diligence prior to executing equity trades.

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Nichole Miller

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