Key Highlights

  • Intel Up 9%: Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) surged 9% after Bank of America upgraded the stock, citing soaring CPU orders as the primary driver of its improved outlook.
  • Oracle Down 12%: Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) fell sharply by 12% after disclosing plans to take on additional debt to fund data center expansion despite reporting flat revenues.
  • BofA Upgrade on CPU Demand: Bank of America's upgrade reflected accelerating CPU order momentum at Intel, a development that stands in contrast to the company's recent history of market share losses.
  • Microsoft and Meta Decline: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) each dropped over 1%, adding pressure to the broader large-cap technology basket.
  • AI Capex Divergence: The session highlighted a widening split between AI infrastructure beneficiaries and companies taking on leverage to fund data center builds without corresponding revenue growth.

Two of the most significant individual stock moves in the US equity market on Thursday played out in the technology sector, with Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) and Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) delivering sharply divergent sessions driven by fundamentally different catalysts.

Intel surged 9% after Bank of America upgraded the stock, pointing to soaring CPU orders as the basis for the more constructive view. The upgrade marks a notable change in analyst positioning on Intel, which has faced prolonged scrutiny over its competitive positioning in both the data center and personal computing markets. The CPU order momentum cited by BofA represents a tangible demand signal that the market responded to decisively.

Oracle fell 12% on the same session, representing one of the steepest single-day declines among large-cap technology names. The drop followed the company's disclosure that it intends to take on more debt to finance data center construction, despite flat sales figures. Investors interpreted the combination of rising leverage and stagnant top-line growth as a negative signal for Oracle's near-term financial health and return profile.

The divergence between Intel and Oracle captures a broader tension running through the AI infrastructure investment cycle: companies demonstrating tangible order growth and demand signals are being rewarded, while those deploying capital aggressively in the absence of corresponding revenue growth are being penalised by the market.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) also closed lower on the day, with both stocks declining by more than 1%. The moves added to selling pressure across large-cap technology names, even as the broader Nasdaq Composite managed a modest gain of up to 0.5% on tech sector support elsewhere in the index.

The session came against a backdrop of macro headwinds including a hotter-than-expected May PPI print and renewed geopolitical escalation following US President Trump's statements on resuming strikes against Iran and targeting Kharg Island.