The Nasdaq 100 Just Hit 30,000. Thank Micron's 18% Surge and the AI Chip Frenzy
MarketDash
The Nasdaq 100 crossed the 30,000 mark for the first time Tuesday, fueled by a massive semiconductor rally. Micron surged 18% after a jaw-dropping price target hike, pushing its market cap above $1 trillion. The iShares Semiconductor ETF jumped 4.8%, bringing its year-to-date gain past 80%.
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The Nasdaq 100 crossed the 30,000-point threshold during Tuesday's intraday session as a powerful semiconductor rally swept across Wall Street, led by Micron Technology Inc. (MU), with shares that surged 18% — putting the stock up more than 200% year-to-date and on track for its best trading day since April 2025.
The move came as Wall Street analysts continued lifting expectations for AI-related spending by hyperscalers, triggering a fresh wave of price-target hikes across companies tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri lifted Micron's price target to $1,625 from $535, the highest forecast on Wall Street, calling for $100-plus EPS power between 2027 and 2029 driven by AI memory demand. The move took Micron's market capitalization above $1 trillion for the first time.
Aside from Micron, semiconductor stocks dominated market leadership. The five top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on Tuesday were all chip-related names, while SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) and Western Digital Corp. (WDC) extended their near-parabolic rallies, each gaining roughly 9% on the session.
By 12:45 p.m. ET in New York, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,517, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend and fell about 100 points, or 0.2%, to 50,478. The Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.1% to 29,812, on pace to notch a fresh record-high closing. The Russell 2000 outperformed, surging 1.7% to 2,918, hitting fresh record highs.
Chip Stocks Power Tech Boom As Micron Crosses $1 Trillion
The session's standout was the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), which jumped 2.3% to lead all S&P 500 sectors, fueled by a powerful rotation back into semiconductors.
The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) soared 4.8%, on its fifth straight session of gains, pushing its year-to-date return past 80%.
Micron's 18% spike lifted peers across the supply chain: Amkor Technology Inc. (AMKR) jumped 12.3% on no company-specific catalyst, with the move tracking the broader semiconductor rally and an announced cash dividend. Allegro MicroSystems Inc. (ALGM) rose 9.1% on sympathy buying with no fresh news in the tape, while ON Semiconductor Corp. (ON) climbed 8.7%, also lifted by the chip rotation with no confirmed individual catalyst. Amphenol Corp. (APH) added 8.4%.
On the downside, AutoZone Inc. (AZO) plunged 10.1% to $3,061.50, the worst Russell 1000 performer, after reporting fiscal third-quarter EPS of $38.07, beating the $36.65 consensus, but missing on revenue at $4.84 billion against the $4.88 billion estimate, with domestic same-store sales of 4.1% perceived as soft against elevated expectations. MongoDB Inc. (MDB) dropped 6% as investors trimmed positions ahead of its May 28 earnings print.
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