Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market finished a bumpy week on a higher note, with exceptional tech leadership and stable oil prices helping the S&P 500 (+1.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.9%), and DJIA (+0.1%) rebound from yesterday's FOMC-driven selloff and lock in weekly gains.

The top-weighted information technology sector (+2.7%) closed with the widest gain, buoyed by a strong showing from its semiconductor components. Intel (INTC 133.99, +12.89, +10.64%) locked in a double-digit gain after President Trump confirmed the company will partner with Apple (AAPL 298.01, +2.06, +0.70%) to design and manufacture Apple's chips in the U.S.

Micron (MU 1133.99, +90.80, +8.70%) surged alongside other memory names following a flurry of price target increases, and the PHLX Semiconductor Index finished 6.4% higher, pushing its year-to-date gain past 100%.

Elsewhere in the technology sector, Accenture (ACN 130.54, -25.46, -16.32%) finished as the S&P 500's worst performer after issuing disappointing forward guidance with its earnings release, weighing on other IT services names such as Cognizant Tech (CTSH 43.70, -5.12, -10.49%) and IBM (IBM 249.10, -13.25, -5.05%).

While semiconductor names were a point of relative strength amid yesterday's FOMC-driven retreat, today's action featured considerably stronger performances from mega-cap names outside the information technology sector. Amazon (AMZN 244.39, +6.89, +2.90%) posted a nice gain after Bloomberg reported the company is considering selling its Trainium AI chips to external data centers in a push to challenge NVIDIA's (NVDA 210.69, +6.04, +2.95%) dominance, while Alphabet (GOOG 367.46, +5.36, +1.48%) and Meta Platforms (META 577.22, +9.64, +1.70%) rebounded from sharply lower finishes yesterday.

The consumer discretionary (+1.8%) and communication services (+1.1%) sectors both outperformed after closing with the widest losses in yesterday's session, and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF finished 1.8% higher.

The consumer discretionary sector was also a beneficiary of today's macro and geopolitical developments. President Trump signed a 60-day memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict in Iran, which would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reduce risks to global energy supplies. Oil prices moved sharply lower before paring most of their losses to finish little changed, though crude still ended the week only about $10 per barrel above levels seen before the start of the U.S. military campaign against Iran.

Oil- and rate-sensitive stocks outperformed, with Carvana (CVNA 66.55, +3.69, +5.87%) and DoorDash (DASH 173.46, +7.80, +4.71%) finishing as the consumer discretionary sector's top performers.

Homebuilders such as PulteGroup (PHM 126.96, +5.08, +4.17%) and Lennar (LEN 89.73, +3.25, +3.76%) also posted solid gains, sending the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF 3.6% higher.

Similarly, building and construction names in the industrials sector (+0.7%) helped the sector notch a higher finish, with electrical names rallying alongside semiconductors.

The rate-sensitive utilities sector (+0.7%) rounds out the five S&P 500 sectors that finished higher, despite a weaker showing from other defensive-oriented sectors such as health care (-0.9%) and consumer staples (-0.6%). Kroger (KR 56.61, -5.21, -8.43%) was a laggard after a slight EPS miss and underwhelming forward guidance.

Unsurprisingly, the energy sector (-1.7%) finished with the widest loss amid the MOA signing between the U.S. and Iran, while other cyclical sectors, such as the financials (-0.9%) and materials (-0.4%) sectors, also lagged.

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+2.1%) outperformed amid the improving macro backdrop, while the S&P Mid Cap 400 (+1.1%) also captured a nice gain.

Overall, today's session represented a solid rebound from yesterday's FOMC-driven weakness, as investors appeared willing to look past the Fed's more hawkish tone and continue buying into areas of recent strength. Semiconductor stocks once again provided the market's primary leadership, while easing geopolitical tensions and stable oil prices helped broaden participation and support a constructive finish to the week.

As a reminder, the market will be closed tomorrow for the Juneteenth holiday.

U.S. Treasuries finished the holiday-shortened week in mixed fashion, sending the 30-year yield note yield to a two-month low (4.90%) while the 2-year yield settled at its highest level since February 2025.

The 2-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.18% (+9 basis points this week), and the 10-year note yield settled down one basis point to 4.45% (-6 basis points this week).

• Russell 2000: +20.1% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +14.7% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +14.1% YTD
• S&P 500: 9.6% YTD
• DJIA: +7.3% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 226K (Briefing.com consensus 226K); Prior was revised to 230K from 229K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.810 mln; Prior was revised to 1.786 mln from 1.795 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is the steady level of initial jobless claims—a leading indicator—which suggests the continuation of low firing activity overall.
• June Philadelphia Fed Index 10.3 (Briefing.com consensus 10.0); Prior -0.4
• May Leading Economic Index 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.2% from 0.1%

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.9%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.5%), and DJIA (+0.2%) remain on track for a higher finish to the week with just half an hour left in the session.

Meanwhile, SpaceX (SPCX 179.65, -12.17, -6.34%) is selling off for the second straight session as investors lock in profits following last Friday's blockbuster IPO, which priced at $135, opened at $150, and quickly turned into one of the most closely watched debuts in market history.

The initial exuberance was fueled by SpaceX's dominant launch position, Starlink's scale, government and defense relationships, Starship optionality, and the scarcity value of a newly public pure-play on space, satellite broadband, AI infrastructure, and national-security technology.

However, the same enthusiasm also pushed valuation to a meteoric level, with the P/S currently sitting at 130x, and that risk is now rearing its head as investors question how much future growth is already priced in after the post-IPO surge.

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages continue to trade in a tight range as the market enters the final hour of the session.

After opening lower this morning, the communication services sector (+1.0%) has trended steadily higher through the session, now one of today's best-performing S&P 500 sectors.

Alphabet (GOOG 366.76, +4.66, +1.29%) is seeing some relief after a sharply lower finish yesterday. The stock is down around 3% for the month of June and is nearly 10% off its all-time high (408.61) from May 18, though today's gain has it back above its 50-day moving average (364.59).

Elsewhere in the sector, Take-Two (TTWO 239.92, +11.89, +5.21%) is sharply higher after the company's Rockstar Games announced that pre-orders for the eagerly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI video game will begin on June 25.

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+1.03%) is in second place on Thursday afternoon, up about 76 points.

Briefly, S&P 500 constituents Corning (GLW 192.27, +16.87, +9.62%), Micron (MU 1141.93, +98.74, +9.47%), and Generac (GNRC 284.88, +16.68, +6.22%) pepper the top of the standings. MU caught target raises at Wedbush, Citi, and Stifel (among others) today, while GNRC rallies as investors continue to re-rate it as a key AI data center power beneficiary, supported by recent hyperscaler-related demand, analyst optimism, and ongoing momentum near multi-year highs.

Meanwhile, Cognizant Tech (CTSH 44.29, -4.53, -9.28%) is one of today's worst laggards in sympathy with Accenture (ACN 126.93, -29.08, -18.64%) after its weak results and lowered growth outlook reinforced concerns about slowing enterprise IT services demand and AI-driven budget pressure across the sector.

[BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq Composite (+1.67%) is in first place this afternoon (+1.67%), up about 433 points.

Gold futures settled $135.50 lower (-3.1%) at $4,245.90/oz, up about +0.2% on the week, as a stronger U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields pressured bullion, while expectations for near-term Fed easing faded. The decline also reflected profit-taking after a strong run, with investors rotating out of gold despite lingering geopolitical and inflation risks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index adds +0.4% to $100.80.