(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a
columnist for Reuters.)
By Mike Dolan
June 23 (Reuters) -
What matters in U.S. and global markets today
By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance and Markets
Big Tech started the week in reverse, with megacaps Alphabet and
Amazon each falling around 5% on Monday, dragged down by a mix
of concerns: interest rate expectations, lofty AI spending and
rising debt.
Even SpaceX, which commenced debt-raising plans of its own on
Monday, clocked its biggest loss since its IPO, dropping some
16%.
I'll get into that and more below.
But first, check out my latest column on why Britain's next
government must really deliver - or risk more political
volatility and economic woe.
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SPACEXHAUST
Stumbling megacaps dragged the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower on
Monday, though chipmakers did much better, ahead of memory
chipmaker Micron's results due out Wednesday. A recent theme
seemed to play out again: buying stocks that benefit from the AI
spending splurge and selling those doing all the spending.
However, the hawkish Fed interest rate outlook weighed on
stocks at large, with a rate hike now fully priced in for
September and a more than 50% chance of two by year-end.
Tech stocks around the world fell overnight in the slipstream,
with South Korea's high-flying KOSPI index off nearly 10% on
Tuesday, partly on warnings about the ongoing weakness of the
Korean won. Stateside, Wall Street futures were in the red
before the bell, with Nasdaq futures tumbling more than 2%.
Elsewhere, in currency markets, the yen continued to flirt with
40-year lows set two years ago, with Fed-fuelled dollar strength
trumping the impact of last week's Bank of Japan rate hike.
There were reports of contact between Tokyo and Washington
officials on the issue of yen stability, keeping intervention
fears on the boil.
On the energy front, oil prices continued their slide under $80
per barrel, with Brent crude trading at around $77/bbl early on
Tuesday. That came amid more signs of returning oil flows
through the Strait of Hormuz and as the U.S. waived sanctions on
Iran for 60 days on Monday after initial peace talks.
In Europe, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation on
Monday left UK markets relatively unperturbed. Focus is now
shifting to how quickly his likely successor Andy Burnham can be
appointed - and who Burnham might choose as finance minister.
The data slate for Tuesday will include the release of flash
U.S. and global business surveys for June, though the big
retreat in oil prices since last week's U.S.-Iran memorandum of
understanding came after those polls were conducted.
Chart of the day
SpaceX stock has reversed all its initial trading gains since
its IPO, falling below its first stock price print after a
nearly 17% drop on Monday, as the company outlined debt-raising
plans and other Big Tech megacaps also swooned.
The shares remained 14% higher than the $135 listing price
on Monday, but they fell a further 2% in afterhours trading. The
quick reversal will concern retail investors who pumped tens of
millions of dollars into the stock last week, and it also
threatens the company's newfound $2 trillion market valuation.
Today's events to watch
* U.S. June S&P Global PMIs (9:45 a.m. EDT)
* U.S. 2-year note auction (1 p.m. EDT)
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