June 23rd Market Overview

Happy Tuesday

Chip stocks took a second day off, and they dragged the market down with them. Underneath the red, this looks like profit-taking after a huge run, not real topping panic… woth saying though this was a brutal day for chip names.

Oil even slid back to where it sat before the Iran war, kinda news that helps once the dust settles.

Let’s dig in...

Today's Big Picture

1. Tech Takes a Breather (beating)
Memory chip stocks sold off around the world, and it started in South Korea. The Kospi had its worst day in years as traders cashed out of names like SK Hynix and Samsung. The question driving it is simple: is the AI spending boom worth these prices? After the run these stocks have had, a pullback like this looks healthy, not scary.

2. SpaceX Round-Trips Below Its Open
Elon Musk's rocket company fell under $150 this morning, the same price it opened at on June 12. That briefly wiped out almost all of its post-IPO gains and pushed it under a $2 trillion value. Then it turned around and closed higher, breaking a three-day slide. Same day, it locked in a $25 billion bond sale to pay back loans and fund the buildout.

3. Oil Cools as the War Winds Down 
Brent crude closed at its lowest since the Iran war began back in late February. Talks between Washington and Tehran are making progress, and the US waived some sanctions so Iranian barrels can flow again. Trump says the Strait of Hormuz is open and moving record volume. The energy scare that rattled markets this spring is beginning to look like it’s over.

Market Overview

Index Performance

Stock Spotlight

Oracle $ORCL ( ▼ 4.7% )  
cut about 21,000 jobs over the past year, more than a tenth of its staff, to free up cash for its AI data center push. The stock fell anyway.

Nvidia $NVDA ( ▼ 1.12% )  
dropped with the rest of the chip group. When the most important stock in the AI trade has a bad day, everyone feels it.

IBM $IBM ( ▼ 0.75% )  
was the rare green name today after JPMorgan upgraded it. The bank likes the momentum building in IBM's software business.

Big Name Updates

Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 1.61% )  
more than doubled its European sales last month, helped by the new Model Y and lower prices. The stock still fell with the tech crowd.

Strategy $MSTR ( ▼ 9.23% )  
Michael Saylor's bitcoin-buying company, is headed for its lowest close in over two years. Its preferred stock now trades below par, which makes it harder to raise money for more bitcoin.

Walmart $WMT ( ▼ 0.34% )  
was the place to hide today. It gained while the chip names fell, as money rotated into steady consumer staples.

Apollo $APO ( ▼ 6.13% )  
capped withdrawals from its big retail private credit fund after investors asked to pull back about a sixth of their money. Worth watching as a stress signal in private credit.

Other Notable Company News

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Opens up service to Review Curated Venture Deals.
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Energy Fuels $UUUU ( ▼ 3.69% )  
is buying rare-earth magnet maker VAC in a cash-and-stock deal worth around $1.9 billion, a bet on building a US magnet supply chain.

Accenture $ACN ( ▲ 1.69% )  
added $2 billion to its buyback program, a sign management thinks the stock is cheap here.

Qualcomm $QCOM ( ▼ 3.96% )  
is in advanced talks to buy AI software firm Modular for about $4 billion.

Target $TGT ( ▲ 4.77% )  
got named a top pick at Wolfe Research, which likes its store resets and new leadership team.

CDW $CDW ( ▼ 0.43% )  
picked up an upgrade at Morgan Stanley, which sees corporate tech spending coming back in the second half.

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Sector Watch

Bond Market

Quiet day in bonds. The real action comes later this week.

• Treasury yields eased a touch but stayed high.

• The dollar is at its strongest in about a year.

• New home sales numbers come out tomorrow.

Policy Watch

The Fed After Kevin Warsh's first meeting last week, the market is now betting on two rate hikes by next April. UBS thinks that's too aggressive and still sees a cut as the next move, just not until 2027.

Energy

• The Department of Energy put up $17.5 billion in loans to speed up advanced nuclear reactors, with Westinghouse leading the builds.

• Walmart signed its first nuclear power deal, buying capacity from Constellation Energy for a new distribution center.

Big buyers want reliable power for data-heavy operations, and they're locking it in years ahead.

Washington and Abroad

• The Senate passed a measure pushing Trump to wind down the fight with Iran.

• The Supreme Court revived an Exxon lawsuit letting it sue Cuba's government over property seized back in 1960.

• South Korean lawmakers are floating a tax on unrealized stock gains, which added to the selling in Asia overnight.

What to Watch

The AI company quietly automating every Walmart distribution center. 
23 billion in orders on the book.

It's just one of seven names in this free MarketBeat report.

Micron Earnings (Wednesday) 
The big read on memory chip demand. The stock got hit hard today, so expectations are high. Watch the guidance more than the headline.

PCE Inflation (Thursday)
The Fed's favorite inflation gauge. A hot number pours fuel on the rate-hike talk.

FedEx and Cerebras (tonight) 
FedEx tells you how goods are actually moving. Cerebras gives its first update since its IPO, another read on the chip market.

Thanks for reading - you are now the more informed 🙂

- John

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