June 22, 2026
S&P futures are down 0.1% Monday morning after U.S. equities finished higher last week, with the Dow and Russell 2000 hitting fresh records and the S&P 500 rising for the 11th time in 12 weeks. Momentum led on continued semi and memory strength, while select reopening, broadening, and cyclical groups also outperformed. Energy was the notable laggard, down more than 6.5% on the week. Asian markets were mostly higher overnight, led by China and Japan, while Europe is also firmer. Treasuries are weaker, with front-end yields up roughly 4 bp and markets pricing about 40 bp of Fed hikes this year. The dollar is little changed, gold is up 1.2%, silver is up 2.4%, Bitcoin futures are up 0.3%, and WTI crude is down 0.8%.
The main weekend development was progress in U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland. Both sides highlighted forward movement after some early headline volatility, with technical working groups created, a Lebanon deconfliction mechanism established, a Strait of Hormuz communication line formed, and traffic in the Strait picking up. Lower-level technical talks are expected to continue this week. Outside geopolitics, key market themes include record inflows into U.S. equities, persistent AI demand, criticism of frontier AI firms, AI cost scrutiny, open-source competition, expected bond-volatility pickup after the Fed’s forward-guidance shift, U.S.-China trade tension, and continued U.S. affordability pressure.
Economic Calendar
There are no major U.S. data releases this morning, though Fed Governor Waller is scheduled to speak. Tuesday brings June flash PMIs, Richmond Fed manufacturing, and a $69B 2-year Treasury auction. Wednesday brings May new home sales, a $70B 5-year auction, and annual bank stress-test results after the close. Thursday features personal income and spending, PCE inflation, initial claims, durable goods, a $44B 7-year auction, and remarks from Williams and Goolsbee. Friday brings the May trade balance, final University of Michigan sentiment and inflation expectations, and remarks from Kashkari.
Company News
- AAPL: Financial press highlighted both Apple’s reduced leverage as a component buyer and its pricing power in the premium smartphone market.
- AMZN: Reportedly giving major brands more control over how their products appear on its platform.
- GOOGL: Saw another high-profile AI executive departure.
- MSFT: CEO criticized the dominance of frontier LLMs and emphasized Microsoft’s strategy around cheaper, more user-controlled AI models.
- Anthropic: Trump said he no longer considers the company a national-security threat.
- NFLX: CEO said the company will look to add more traditional broadcasters to its platform.
- KO: In a $20B legal dispute with the IRS that could affect how multinationals shield profits.
- ABBV / APGE: AbbVie is reportedly nearing an agreement to acquire Apogee for nearly $11B.
- MTN: Reportedly facing activist scrutiny.
- GETY: Sharply higher on a display deal with OpenAI.
U.S. equities finished higher Thursday, ending near best levels, with the Dow up 0.14%, S&P 500 up 1.08%, Nasdaq up 1.91%, and Russell 2000 up 2.12%. The market shook off Wednesday’s hawkish FOMC takeaways as Treasury yields retraced part of the prior session’s backup. The 2-year yield fell 4 bp to 4.18%, the 10-year declined 4 bp to 4.45%, and the 30-year fell 3 bp to 4.90%. The dollar index rose 0.7%, its best day in more than three months, while gold fell 3.3%, silver dropped 6.3%, Bitcoin futures declined 2.1%, and WTI crude settled little changed at $76.99, marking a sixth straight decline and leaving crude down more than 10% for the week.
The macro narrative remained centered on AI demand, lower oil, and the fading inflation impulse from the U.S.-Iran conflict. Semis and memory rallied again, with the SOX on pace for another strong weekly gain, while the U.S.-Iran MOU and lifted blockade kept energy supply relief in focus. Crude prices are now back near levels last seen early in the war, and U.S. gasoline prices have moved back below $4/gallon. Initial claims printed at 226K, slightly above consensus but down 4K w/w, while continuing claims came in at 1.81M. The June Philly Fed Index improved to 10.3 from -0.4, with employment back in expansion territory, prices paid higher, and prices received lower. Next week’s macro calendar is lighter, with flash PMIs, ADP weekly payrolls, new home sales, PCE inflation, and final University of Michigan sentiment in focus.
Sector performance favored growth and high beta. Technology led, up 2.68%, followed by Consumer Discretionary +1.76%, Communication Services +1.13%, Industrials +0.72%, and Utilities +0.66%. Materials fell 0.38%, Consumer Staples declined 0.57%, Healthcare lost 0.85%, Financials fell 0.91%, and Energy lagged, down 1.73%. Semis, memory, big tech, airlines, machinery, multis, homebuilders, retail/apparel, casual diners, hotels, cruise lines, nuclear, quantum computing, small caps, and most-shorted names outperformed. Software extended its week-to-date slump, while SpaceX and other space names pulled back. Other laggards included energy, pharma/biotech, hospitals, aerospace and defense, money-center banks, payments, insurers, private equity, food, and grocers.
Information Technology
- INTC +10.6%: Rallied after Trump said Apple agreed to work with Intel to design and build chips in the U.S., also highlighting the increased value of the U.S. government’s stake.
- AAPL: CEO Tim Cook said Apple will need to raise prices in response to rising memory and storage costs. He also said the company would be willing to use its balance sheet to help fund memory capacity expansion.
- AMZN +2.9%: Bloomberg reported Amazon is in talks to sell custom AI chips to other companies in an effort to challenge Nvidia.
- MSFT: Bloomberg highlighted Microsoft’s growing business in China selling AI models.
- ACN -18.0%: Q3 revenue and bookings missed, while EPS beat. Q4 revenue guidance was below consensus, though FY26 EPS guidance was raised at the low end. Accenture also announced more than $4B of acquisitions that are expected to be initially dilutive.
- ENPH +9.4%: Upgraded to equal weight from underweight at Barclays, which highlighted potential data-center upside from the company’s SST initiative.
- IREN +3.2%: Initiated buy at Jefferies, which cited the company’s successful pivot from Bitcoin mining toward AI infrastructure.
Communication Services
- TTWO +4.9%: Rockstar Games said preorders for Grand Theft Auto VI will officially begin June 25.
- Communication Services +1.13%: Participated in the growth-led rebound, helped by broader big-tech strength.
Consumer Discretionary
- SWBI +17.1%: Fiscal Q4 earnings and revenue beat, gross margin improved y/y, and management cited handgun shipment outperformance, strong new-product performance, and strength in the sporting-goods channel.
- QS +16.5%: Announced a joint research agreement with Honda on next-generation solid-state batteries, focused on development and manufacturing processes.
- Consumer Discretionary +1.76%: Outperformed on strength in retail/apparel, casual dining, hotels, cruise lines, homebuilders, and other higher-beta consumer areas.
Consumer Staples
- KR -8.4%: Q1 EPS was slightly light, though revenue and operating profit beat. Identical sales ex-fuel missed, gross margin disappointed, and analysts flagged transportation costs, egg deflation, and pricing investments.
Financials
- FDS -3.1%: Downgraded to sell from neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn, which cited structural pressure on the terminal-based business and risks from AI-driven disintermediation.
Healthcare
- NVCR -20.0%: Phase 3 TRIDENT trial evaluating earlier use of tumor-treating fields therapy did not meet its primary endpoint.
- PFE -2.7%: Announced a CFO transition, with Dave Denton leaving August 15 and SVP Finance Cecile Guegan named interim CFO.
- BIIB: Agreed to acquire RayThera for up to $1B.
Industrials
- SPCX: Pulled back with other space-related names after recent post-IPO momentum.
Materials
- ASH +5.5%: Bloomberg reported Cruiser Capital Advisors is pushing the company to sell itself, following a similar call from another activist investor earlier this month.
- STLD -7.5%: Preannounced Q2 EPS below consensus. Takeaways focused on softer downstream earnings, higher costs in fabricated products, ADI asset writedowns, and some timing issues, though demand commentary remained upbeat.
- NUE: Traded lower despite guiding Q2 EPS well above expectations, supported by higher average selling prices, stable steel-mill volumes, and an increase in the value of its fusion-energy investment.
Eco Data Releases | Monday June 22nd, 2026
No high-level releases scheduled for today
S&P 500 Constituent Earnings Announcements | Monday June 22nd, 2026
No constituents report today
Data sourced from FactSet Research Systems Inc.
