Stocks Moving Premarket: Salesforce Jumps on a BofA Upgrade, Micron Slips on China's DRAM Push and Oil Climbs on Hormuz Risks
Salesforce rose about 4% after Bank of America upgraded it to Buy, Micron and Intel slipped, and Brent crude hovered near $106 as Strait of Hormuz tensions lingered. Plus this week's economic calendar, led by Wednesday's CPI and the start of bank earnings.
U.S. stock futures were mixed and trading was light Monday, Oct. 12, with stocks open for the Columbus Day holiday while the bond market is closed. Premarket, Dow futures were up about 0.15%, S&P 500 futures up about 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 futures down about 0.17%. Salesforce led the gainers on an analyst upgrade, memory and chip stocks slipped, and oil edged higher as risks around the Strait of Hormuz lingered. A busy week follows, with the first big bank earnings on Tuesday and September CPI on Wednesday.
Economic calendar: today and this week
The Fed raised rates by 25 basis points in September, its first hike since 2023, and the minutes showed most participants see another hike as likely appropriate by year-end. After weak jobs data, pricing for an October hike fell to about 20% from about 70%, so this week's inflation reports will matter. All times are Eastern.
| Day | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Mon, Oct. 12 | 12:10 PM | Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack speaks (per one report); Columbus Day, bond market closed |
| Tue, Oct. 13 | Before the open | Bank earnings begin: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo |
| Wed, Oct. 14 | 8:30 AM | Consumer Price Index (September). Consensus: headline +0.6% month over month and 3.6% year over year; core +0.2% and 2.5% |
| Wed, Oct. 14 | 2:00 PM | Fed Beige Book; Morgan Stanley and Bank of America earnings |
| Thu, Oct. 15 | 8:30 AM | Retail sales (expected +0.3%, control group +0.3%) and Producer Price Index (expected +0.5%); jobless claims, Philadelphia Fed index |
| Fri, Oct. 16 | All day | Import and export prices, industrial production; monthly options expiration |
Consensus figures are from one source and can change. The Fed's quiet period before its October meeting begins Saturday, Oct. 17. S&P 500 third-quarter earnings are expected to grow about 29.5% from a year ago, per FactSet as cited by Newsquawk.
Notable premarket moves
| Company | Ticker | Premarket | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | CRM | +4% | Bank of America upgraded it from Underperform to Buy and raised its target to $285 from $160 |
| Amazon | AMZN | +0.2% | WSJ: in talks to buy AI startup Decart for about $7 billion; no agreement yet |
| Micron | MU | -2% | China's ChangXin Memory said its fifth-generation DRAM is in mass production, with DDR5 server memory due by year-end |
| Intel | INTC | -1.6% | CEO Lip-Bu Tan called Chinese AI models like DeepSeek "good enough" and low cost |
| Albemarle | ALB | -4.5% | Fell to $96.70; no catalyst reported |
| Standard Motor Products | SMP | -3.2% | Named an interim CFO effective Oct. 30; shares at $35.52 |
| Phoenix Education Partners | PXED | -4.0% | Named an interim CFO; shares at $24.97 |
Salesforce's upgrade rests on Bank of America's view that enterprise customers will stay on core platforms and that Salesforce's AI products will drive added spending, according to TradingKey. The Micron decline reflects competition worries, since a Chinese producer entering the server DDR5 market could pressure prices. The Amazon report has not been confirmed by either company. Premarket quotes can change sharply by the open.
Oil, gold and the Strait of Hormuz
West Texas Intermediate crude rose about 1.1% to near $92.90 and Brent about 1.1% to near $105.80. Iran is still reviewing the U.S. response to a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and has given no timeline, and reports of attacks on tankers and aviation facilities kept supply concerns elevated. Gold slipped about 0.55% to near $4,171 an ounce as a stronger dollar offset some safe-haven demand.
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