U.S. stocks are drifting near a record as Wall Street’s recent rally loses some momentum. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Thursday, a day after after pulling to the edge of its all-time high set in early December.

Micron (NASDAQ: MU) makes memory chips and storage for phones and computers. However, these chips can also be used for data centers and it is now one of the key players in the AI business. The stock is down 24% from its peak but analysts are eyeing a massive rebound here.

But one Wall Street analyst thinks investors should take advantage of that lull. Oppenheimer 's Rick Schafer just made the company one of his top picks for 2025 in the semiconductor sector. His firm's price target of $175 per share would represent a 27% gain from recent levels.

U.S. stock indexes are drifting higher following a mostly encouraging batch of profit reports from big companies.

Netflix, Oracle and other technology stocks are lifting U.S. indexes as their profits pile higher and excitement builds around the moneymaking prospects of artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 rose 0.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley say Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is in a "pole position" to capitalize on growing demand for generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applications like AI agents. Other analysts seem to agree.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 37.13 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 130.92 and the Nasdaq composite jumped 252.56.

Stocks in Asia moved higher after a morning briefing by Chinese officials showed the government remains determined to boost share prices.