Stock Market Today, Nov. 6: Micron Technology Jumps as Chip Stocks Rebound From Thursday's Rout

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), a memory chips and storage solutions provider, closed at $690.00, up 5.12%. Shares surged as chip stocks bounced back from Thursday's rout, and investors are watching AI memory demand and the next earnings report.

Trading volume reached 44.5 million shares, coming in about 59% above its three-month average of 28.0 million shares.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) rose 0.31% to 7,377, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) climbed 1.09% to 24,579. Among semiconductor memory and storage solutions peers, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) closed at $263.78, down 1.44%, while Seagate Technology Holdings (NASDAQ:STX) finished at $460.99, down 1.19%.

What this means for investors

On Friday, Nov. 6, Micron Technology joined a broad semiconductor rebound after Thursday's rout, as investors realized shares were oversold yesterday. Micron, in particular, looks cheap. Its stock's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 3.8 is at a low point over the past year, and far below Seagate's 12.4, for example.

Wall Street has been hesitant to jump into Micron shares because the memory chip industry tends to follow a cyclical pattern. After memory became scarce this year due to the artificial intelligence boom, and prices soared, Micron announced efforts to expand supply. This tends to eventually lead to an industry downturn as the memory shortage abates and prices drop.

However, the AI sector is expanding around the world, resulting in data center buildouts that require memory for years to come. Micron's latest guidance points to tighter memory and storage supply-demand conditions extending into fiscal 2027 and 2028, which remains a key backdrop for the stock.

The AI infrastructure explosion seemed threatened by this week's U.S. midterm election, when the Democratic Party gained control of Congress. Investors were concerned that incoming Democratic leadership might drive tighter AI regulations and pause data center construction projects, leading to yesterday's sell-off.

Those fears were tempered by Micron's bargain valuation, and the company's strong success to date. On September 30, Micron reported record fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results, and that update brought the market's focus back on strong memory pricing and demand.

Robert Izquierdo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology and Western Digital. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.