Stock futures gained Thursday as investors continued to buy AI-related stocks to start a new month of trading even as surging Treasury yields weighed on most of the market. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.6%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 86 points, or 0.2%. Micron posted blockbuster earnings with revenue quadrupling last quarter. The results appeared to boost other chipmakers and AI-related companies more than Micron itself, whose shares are up 270% this year. Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom were all higher in early trading. Alphabet added to the bullish sentiment, unveiling its latest Gemini model. Its shares were up almost 2% in early trading. Tech shares led the broader market in September as a majority of the stocks in the benchmark declined. That pattern held early Wednesday, with most stocks outside of technology weaker or flat. Micron is reaping 87% profit margins but is planning to increase worker pay, which will dampen margins relative to Street expectations, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The market started October higher even as two of the biggest concerns of investors persisted: oil and rates. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit an intraday high today of 5.342%, breaking through the June 2007 high of 5.328% for the highest level going back to April 3, 2002, when the 10-year went up to 5.379%. The 30-year was at 5.663% as of 9:10 a.m. ET on Thursday. WTI crude gained 1.6% to above $91 a barrel as traders awaited what President Donald Trump’s next move would be in the Iran conflict and whether he would wait until after the midterms before taking more military action. September, historically a weak month for stocks, wasn’t kind to the S&P 500, which dropped 0.5%. Investors grappled with the higher oil prices and a surge in Treasury yields. The Dow lost 4.3%, while the Nasdaq outperformed and gained 1.9% in the month because of tech shares. Wednesday also marked the end of the third quarter. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each advanced about 2%, while the Dow lost 2.7%. “While those factors remain headwinds, corporate earnings have continued to show resilience,” said Tracie McMillion, head of global asset allocation strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “The key question is whether that earnings strength can continue as borrowing costs remain elevated.” Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher Thursday, with Japanese stocks leading gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 3.3%, ending the trading day at 68,956.72, while the broader Topix added 0.57% to 4,131.98. The Nikkei’s rally was led by technology and electronics stocks. Lasertec surged 11.1%, and chip-testing equipment maker Advantest jumped 9.8%. Index heavyweight Softbank closed over 4% higher. South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.95% to 6,971.35. Heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rose 2.79% and 3.21%, respectively. The small-cap Kosdaq rose 4.48% to 894.29. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was dropped 2% to 8,614.40. Gold steadied on Thursday, helped by a softer-than-expected US inflation report ​that lowered expectations of ​a Federal Reserve ​rate hike in October, although rising Treasury yields and a firmer dollar limited further gains. Spot gold was little changed at $4,155.60 per ounce. US gold ⁠futures ‌for December delivery held steady at $4,185.50. The metal ⁠fell over 6% in September.