US Stock Market Preview: Mixed Futures, Health Stocks Drop, Micron and Corning Rise

US Stock Futures Mixed Ahead of Market Open

As of Tuesday morning, US stock futures showed mixed results. The Dow futures fell by 0.49%, while the Nasdaq futures rose by 0.63%, and the S&P 500 futures increased by 0.24%.

Tech Stocks Performance

Most major tech stocks saw gains in pre-market trading:

• Micron Technology (MU) rose over 4%
• Intel (INTC) increased nearly 4%
• Apple (AAPL) and Google-A (GOOGL) both gained over 1%
• AMD and Microsoft (MSFT) rose close to 1%
• NVIDIA (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) saw slight increases

Chinese Stocks and Precious Metals

Popular Chinese stocks also performed well:

• Bilibili (BILI) up over 4%
• Baidu (BIDU) up over 2%
• Alibaba (BABA) and TSMC (TSM) both rose nearly 2%

In the precious metals sector, stocks continued their strong performance:

• Namib Minerals (NAMM) surged over 14%
• Gold Fields (GFI) rose nearly 2%
• Other silver stocks like Hycroft Mining (HYMC) and First Majestic Silver (AG) increased over 1%

Storage and Quantum Computing Stocks

Storage concept stocks were active:

• Micron Technology (MU) up over 4%
• Rambus (RMBS) increased nearly 3%
• Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) both rose over 2%

Quantum computing stocks also saw gains:

• D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) rose nearly 5%
• IonQ Inc (IONQ) and Intel (INTC) both increased over 3%

Medicare Payment Rate Proposal Affects Healthcare Stocks

Healthcare stocks faced declines in pre-market trading following a government proposal to maintain Medicare payment rates.

• Humana (HUM) fell over 16%
• CVS Health (CVS) dropped nearly 13%

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the payment rate for Medicare Advantage plans is expected to rise only 0.09% by 2027, significantly lower than the anticipated 6% increase.

Micron Technology's Investment in Singapore

Micron Technology announced plans to invest an additional $24 billion in Singapore over the next decade to expand its memory chip manufacturing capabilities amid a shortage driven by AI demands. This investment is expected to create around 1,600 jobs, with production anticipated to start in the second half of 2028.

CoreWeave and Microsoft Developments

CoreWeave (CRWV) rose nearly 5% after NVIDIA announced a $2 billion investment to accelerate the construction of its AI factory.

Microsoft (MSFT) also saw a pre-market increase of nearly 1% after receiving approval to build 15 new data centers in Wisconsin, enhancing its AI capabilities.

Apple’s Exciting Future

Tech journalist Mark Gurman predicts that 2026 will be one of the most exciting years for Apple (AAPL), with significant updates expected across its product lines, including Mac, iPhone, iPad, wearables, and smart home devices.