S&P 500 rises as oil slides, traders await Micron earnings

The S&P 500 moved higher on Wednesday as oil prices fell, with investors looking ahead to the release of Micron Technology’s earnings after the bell.

The broad market index rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 418 points, or 0.8%.

Oil prices continued their decline Wednesday. International benchmark Brent crude futures lost 3% to around $74 per barrel, seeing its lowest level since before the U.S. and Israel first launched airstrikes against Iran at the end of February. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures slid 3% to around $70 and had earlier hit its lowest level since early March.

Treasury yields fell as oil prices slid, with the 10-year note yield dropping below 4.5%.

Energy names took a hit as well. Shares of Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips each declined more than 2%, while SLB dropped more than 3%. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) moved lower by almost 2%.

Meanwhile, shares of Micron traded down more than 1%, as did fellow memory stock Sandisk. The two tumbled 13% in the previous session.

Micron will report its latest earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts polled by FactSet see earnings of $20.83 per share on revenue of $35.75 billion.