The top trading volume on the US stock market Thursday was captured by Micron Technology (MU), which closed up 4.23% with $346.12 billion in turnover. Strong positive signals from core artificial intelligence infrastructure partners have become a key catalyst for the memory chip maker. Major AI server manufacturers have reported robust revenue forecasts and expanding order backlogs, highlighting sustained high corporate spending on data center computing hardware. Since next-generation AI server platforms require substantial amounts of specialized high-bandwidth memory and advanced DRAM, optimistic server deployment guidance has directly boosted investor confidence in Micron as a critical storage supplier. The underlying driver of the stock's upward momentum is a structural supply-demand imbalance in the global storage industry. Recent comments from management at an industry technology conference further confirmed that AI-driven demand for storage hardware is growing faster than the expansion of manufacturing capacity. The shift to producing high-bandwidth memory for AI accelerators has significantly reduced output of traditional memory chips, further tightening overall market supply. Company executives noted that data center storage shortages are expected to persist at least through 2027, providing Micron with strong pricing power and long-term revenue visibility through clear customer commitments.
The second-highest volume stock was SanDisk (SNDK), which surged 13.67% to close with $326.18 billion in turnover. On Thursday, SanDisk presented its long-term financial model at the 2026 Investor Day, outlining a series of fiscal targets for the 2028 to 2030 period, including achieving mid-to-high double-digit revenue growth. The company also clarified market concerns about bit growth, stating that available-for-sale bit volume will be adjusted based on profitability optimization needs, while committing to return 100% of remaining cash to shareholders after completing business investments. Following the announcement, the market quickly responded through stock price action. SanDisk's intraday gains briefly expanded to 17.6%, and the broader storage sector strengthened in tandem. By the close, SanDisk was up nearly 14%.
NVIDIA (NVDA), ranked fifth, rose 0.54% with $221.35 billion in trading volume. On August 13, NVIDIA announced that the native Linux application for its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service has officially exited the beta phase and is now available to all users. The application first launched on Linux in beta in January 2026 and, after months of community feedback and optimization, has now been released as a final version.
Seventh-ranked SpaceX dropped 3.33% with $170.37 billion in volume. A contractor that previously helped Elon Musk build data centers is now suing SpaceXAI, demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid wages. Darana Hybrid Inc. claims the Musk-affiliated company owes it $432.5 million for project work. The lawsuit, filed on August 6, seeks $136.8 million in damages, with the core dispute centered on engineering work at four locations in Mississippi.
Apple (AAPL), in eighth place, gained 1% with $122.53 billion in trading volume. The company announced the opening of an advanced manufacturing center in Houston and the start of Mac Mini production there.
Intel (INTC), ranked ninth, advanced 3.58% with $122.12 billion in volume. This followed a UBS report stating that Intel's $20 billion financing plan, announced this week, has likely removed the long-standing uncertainty that had weighed on the stock.
Tenth-ranked Tesla (TSLA) rose 3.80% with $115.8 billion in turnover. CEO Elon Musk stated that flying cars will eventually reach the market, a signal the company has previously hinted at.