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Nasdaq closes lower as chip sell-off resumes; Micron shares extend losses

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 24, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

The Nasdaq Composite pulled back on Wednesday as Micron Technology shares fell, with investors looking ahead to the release of chipmaker's earnings after the bell.

The tech-heavy index slipped 0.43% to end at 25,476.64, while the S&P 500 declined 0.10% to 7,358.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 182.06 points, or 0.35%, to end at 51,848.90.

Oil prices continued their decline Wednesday. International benchmark Brent crude futures lost 4.33% to settle at $73.74 per barrel, seeing its lowest level since before the U.S. and Israel first launched airstrikes against Iran at the end of February. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures slid 3.92% to settle at $70.34 a barrel and had earlier hit its lowest level since early March.

Treasury yields fell as oil prices slid, with the 10-year note yield dropping below 4.5%.

Energy names took a hit as well. Shares of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and SLB all declined more than 2%. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) moved lower by more than 1%.

Meanwhile, shares of Micron came off their lows but ended down 0.3%, while fellow memory stock Sandisk dropped 2.5%. The two tumbled 13% in the previous session. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) ended the session marginally lower.

Micron will report its latest earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts polled by FactSet see earnings of $20.83 per share on revenue of $35.75 billion.

Wednesday's moves come after a rout in the technology sector dragged the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq lower on Tuesday. Investors sold off semiconductor-adjacent stocks in Tuesday's session, with the SMH chip ETF ending the day 7% lower.

"The downside move in tech stocks is a healthy pullback, since many tech stocks have become overstretched," said Rick Gardner, chief investment officer at RGA Investments. "The tech pullback suggests that investors are coming to the realization that earnings expectations for tech stocks are high, creating a more difficult bar to clear when earnings season re-starts in July, and we would characterize this pullback as a recalibration of expectations."

Micron has had an astronomical run in 2026, with shares hitting a new all-time high on Monday and ending Tuesday at $1,051.77 per share. But Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, warned the stock could fall after the earnings report.

It might go "down to $1,000. That's going to sound like a big drawdown, but it's something that traders will be watching as it starts to get in line with this 20-day moving average," he said.

Alphabet shed earlier gains to close down 0.2% Wednesday after S&P Global said Tuesday that the company will soon replace Verizon in the Dow.

S&P 500, Nasdaq finish in the red

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed in negative territory on Wednesday.

The broad-based index dropped 0.1% to end at 7,358.22, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.43% to settle at 25,476.64.

However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.06 points, or 0.35%, to 51,848.90.

— Sean Conlon

AI is getting better at turning browsers into buyers, Adobe says

One day into Amazon's four-day shopping extravaganza, and Adobe Insights is seeing a budding trend: AI is beginning to turn more browsers into buyers.

According to the Adobe, shoppers coming to retail sites using artificial intelligence are 50.7% more likely to actually make a purchase. These shoppers also are spending more time on the retailer's website (49.9% longer) and looking at more items (20.5% more pages), Adobe said.

This is a significant change in behavior, according to the firm. Last year, it found that AI-driven shoppers were 23% less likely to make a purchase during the sales event.

Vivek Pandya, Adobe's lead analyst, said shoppers are using AI to speed up their experience. However, many portions of retail sites, possibly as much as 46% in some cases, are not readable by machines, he said.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Bitcoin slides to its lowest level since October 2024

Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images

Bitcoin dropped to $59,023.98, its lowest level since October 2024 as the crypto bear market drags on.

This is the third time this year that bitcoin has traded below $60,000.

The flagship cryptocurrency, in roughly its eighth month of a bear market, is being squeezed from both macroeconomic and industry-specific headwinds: Capital rotating into AI, IPOs and prediction markets; inflationary pressures stemming from the Iran war; and a broader loss of confidence across the crypto market.

For more on what's driving the action in bitcoin read our full story here.

— Tanaya Macheel

Wall Street bullish on Cerebras after earnings

Investors may be disappointed in Cerebras Systems' first post-IPO earnings report, but Wall Street analysts liked what they heard.

The AI chipmaker's first-quarter revenue nearly doubled from the year prior, but shares tumbled 15% and hit a 52-week low after the company guided for a drop in its gross margins.

"Key engagements with OpenAI and AWS [Amazon Web Services] are moving forward[,] which is more important to the long-term story," TD Cowen analyst Joshua Buchalter said in a note Tuesday. "GM% will be pressured as Cerebras aggressively ramps, but we remain upbeat on Cerebras' prospects as it scales to support a meaningful revenue inflection."

Buchalter reiterated his buy rating and $275 price target, which implies 21% upside from Tuesday's close. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley and UBS both raised their price targets on the stock. The former boosted its target to $273 from $250, suggesting 20% upside from Tuesday's close. The latter raised its target to $320 per share from $300, which implies shares can rally 41%.

UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri believes Amazon Web Services should ramp very quickly and has the potential to add upwards of $1 billion next year.

"In the meantime, model will remain a bit complex, but we continue to see CBRS' growth through the end of the decade limited more by supply than demand as customers look to add specialized and disaggregated infrastructure for premium segments of the market," he wrote in a note Wednesday.

— Michelle Fox

It's 'blasphemy' to call AI a bubble, Softbank founder says

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son speaks during the SoftBank World 2024 on Oct. 3, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images

The founder of Japanese tech investment conglomerate SoftBank thinks it's "blasphemy" to bet against artificial intelligence.

"To call it a bubble is blasphemy against AI," Masayoshi Son said, according to a June 24 report by Nikkei Asia.

He compared AI to the birth of the internet, saying it's still early days for the technology.

"People may wonder whether AI is a bubble, just as they did with the internet," the chief executive said in an hourlong presentation. "But looking back over the past 30 years, the top internet companies grew enormously. Compared with that, the AI revolution has only just begun."

The investment boom in the first phase of the commercial internet is widely recognized to have been a bubble, with the Nasdaq popping in March 2000 and losing about 75% of its value over the following two years.

The index has since rebounded and is now worth roughly 17 times what it was in 2002, with early internet companies like Google and Amazon worth trillions of dollars. Adjusted for inflation, the Nasdaq is worth about 10 times its value in 2002.

— Tobias Burns

KeyBanc upgrades Nucor to overweight from sector weight

KeyBanc upgraded Nucor to overweight from sector weight following improvements in the U.S. carbon steel sector. Analyst Samuel McKinney adjusted the price target to $274, implying a 16.9% increase from Tuesday's close.

The analyst expects carbon steel demand and pricing to increase after surveying multiple firms. "Our estimate changes are largely positive, with an intact view of nicely improved y/y profitability for the sector. We are upgrading NUE on a stronger 2H26 outlook," McKinney said in the note.

Nucor is up 47% this year, outperforming the S&P 500.

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Nucor Corp is up 48% this year

— Assiatou Hann

KB Home pacing for best day in over 5 years after latest earnings

A drone view shows construction workers building the nation's first new-home community that meets the home and neighborhood-level wildfire resilience standards, developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) built by KB Home in Escondido, California, U.S., May 28, 2025.
Mike Blake | Reuters

Shares of KB Home were last up more than 17%, after the homebuilder posted a revenue beat on Tuesday afternoon.

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KBH 5D chart

The homebuilder stock reported a fiscal second-quarter revenue of $1.11 billion, beating the $1.10 billion analysts polled by LSEG were expecting. Shares were on pace for their best day since Jan. 13, 2022, when they gained 16.5%.

KB Home was leading the iShares Home Construction ETF (ITB) higher on Wednesday. The exchange-traded fund was last trading 7% higher and on pace for its best day since Jan. 9, 2026, when it rose 6.3%.

— Nick Wells and Lisa Kailai Han

European stocks finish in mixed territory; Rheinmetall sheds over 18%

European stocks closed in mixed territory on Wednesday as the global sell-off in technology stocks eased, and oil prices fell.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed just above the flatline, with London's FTSE 100 adding 0.3% and France's Cac 40 adding 0.5%. Germany's DAX, on the other hand, fell 0.7%, as a sharp sell-off in defense giant Rheinmetall weighed on the index.

Defense stocks across the board plummeted on Wednesday after a report that Germany will abandon plans to build six warships. Investors are concerned that the boost to defense contractors from increased government spending may not fully materialize.

Rheinmetall shares finished the day down 18.6%. 

Mining stocks also sold off, as the price of gold hit a 7-month low on fears of higher interest rates.

— Joseph Wilkins

Semiconductor stocks buck market rally

Chip stocks sat out of Wednesday's relief rally.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) sat near flat in Wednesday trading, meaning the sector wasn't able to see a bounce following the prior session's sell-off. Still, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each rallied around 0.7% in midday trading on Wednesday due to advances in other areas of the market.

VanEck's ETF is now down more than 5% on the week. By comparison, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has slid less than 3%.

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The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) vs. the S&P 500, 5-day

— Alex Harring

Sen. Warren says Fed Chairman Warsh is 'in a box'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks with CNBC on June 24, 2026.
CNBC

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday that Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh has no good alternatives when it comes to interest rate policy.

"Donald Trump has put Kevin Warsh and the Fed in a box," Warren, D-Mass., said on CNBC. "If they raise interest rates, that puts the squeeze harder on American families and unemployment, and if they lower interest rates, Donald Trump's increases, because of tariffs, because of energy policies, really threatens runaway inflation, and so Warsh is boxed in."

The comments come a week after Warsh's first meeting as the central bank leader, during which he established five task forces to address multiple areas of monetary policy, while removing so-called forward guidance language from the post-meeting statement.

"The only thing I heard that was interesting about that is Warsh did, in effect, he understands he's boxed in, but he doesn't plan to talk about it," Warren said. "He intends to say less, and I've got to say, I'm not sure how that solves anything."

— Jeff Cox

WTI falls below $70 for first time since March

U.S. crude hit its lowest level since early March on Wednesday.

West Texas Intermediate futures reached a session low of $69.84 per barrel, marking the first time the crude has dropped below the $70 mark since March 2. WTI was last down more than 4% in the session.

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WTI, 1-day

— Alex Harring and Gina Francolla

Wendy’s surges 30% after trading halted at one point

The Wendy's logo is seen on a sign outside of one of its fast food restaurants.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Wendy's shares surged on Wednesday, fueled by a burst of retail investor enthusiasm that appears disconnected from the fast-food chain's latest executive appointment.

The stock climbed more than 42% on heavy volume at one point after Wendy's disclosed the appointment of former Potbelly executive Steven Cirulis as chief financial officer and chief strategy officer. While management changes can influence investor sentiment, the magnitude of the move suggests other forces may be at play.

Trading was briefly halted by the New York Stock Exchange for volatility shortly after the open. When it resumed, it shot to a high of $8.89 a share. The stock was last up 30%. Read more.

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WEN, 1-day

— Yun Li

New single-family home sales slide as sales prices surge

New home sales decline in May
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New home sales decline in May

New home sales plunged in May as selling prices soared, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Sales of new single-family homes totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 580,000, which was 7.3% below the upwardly revised April number and well off the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 632,000.

At the same time, the average selling price for a new home jumped to $540,600, a 7.8% increase from April and 5% above the same period a year ago.

Mortgage rates edged up during the month, closing at 6.56% for a 30-year home loan, according to Mortgage News Daily. The current rate is 6.65%.

— Jeff Cox

Prime Day helps drive biggest online shopping day so far this year, Adobe says

Packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York, US, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
Klaus Galiano | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tuesday was the biggest online shopping day so far this year, with U.S. retailers ringing up $8.3 billion in sales, up 5.3% year-over year, according to data tracker Adobe. For comparison, shoppers spent $6.4 billion last Thanksgiving and $11.8 billion on Black Friday 2025. Cyber Monday 2025 tallied $14.2 billion in online sales, Adobe said.

The firm's data tracks more than 1 trillion visits to retail sites, and the results are running ahead of its predictions. Adobe had estimated that consumers would spend $26.3 billion during the four-day Amazon Prime Day event, which usually spurs competitive promotions across a wide swath of retailers.

Consumers are putting electronics, appliances and everyday essentials, including baby products, in their carts, Adobe said.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

S&P 500 opens higher

The S&P 500 rose slightly on Wednesday morning.

The broad market index advanced 0.1% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, along with the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 15 points, or 0.1%.

— Sean Conlon

Gold futures slip below $4,000 for first time in seven months

Gold drifted higher on Monday, supported by a weaker dollar and recent soft economic data that reduced expectations for a U.S. interest rate hike next month.
Matt Jelonek | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gold futures with August delivery have dipped below $4,000 for the first time in seven months, deepening their downturn amid a broader stock market slump.

The previous metal was last trading around $3,987.3, marking its first time below the $4,000 level since Nov. 18, 2025. Its selloff has been fueled by a rout in technology stocks that began earlier this week.

Gold last settled below the $4,000 level on Nov. 6, 2025, when it closed at $3,991.

— Liz Napolitano

Alphabet shares rise almost 1% following Dow inclusion announcement

Alphabet will replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P Global said Tuesday, further expanding mega-cap technology's presence in the blue-chip average.

S&P Global said the Google parent's A shares — which trade under the ticker GOOGL — would take the spot in the 30-stock index ahead of the start of Monday's trading. Read more.

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— Alex Harring and Jennifer Elias

BlackBerry's worth it, says Stifel

The BlackBerry logo is displayed at the company's booth during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Jan. 6, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Stifel analysts say there is "no superior alternative" to BlackBerry's software platform that supplies for artificial intelligence-linked applications. The company was first known for its signature mobile phones in the early 2000s. 

"The market still misdefines BlackBerry," analyst Suthan Sukumar said Tuesday in a note to clients. "This is … a mission-critical software layer in the physical AI stack and a dominant partner to silicon leaders like NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and AMD powering the build-out from cloud to edge, across cars, robots, factories, and medical devices." 

The company's shares increased around 2% in premarket trading following the upgrade and have jumped nearly 133% year to date. LSEG data shows six out of the seven analysts covering BlackBerry have a buy or strong buy on the stock.

— Ananya Chetia

Take-Two Interactive jumps on GTA 6 news

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software rose more than 2% in premarket trading after the video game company announced pre-orders for its highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI will begin Thursday.

The latest installment of the popular game, from Take-Two's Rockstar Games, will launch on Nov. 19 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox series X and S entertainment systems.

The release was originally set to occur in fall 2025 but has been plagued by multiple delays. The last one occurred in November, when the company promised to use the additional months to "to finish the game with the level of polish you have come to expect and deserve."

— Michelle Fox

Iran has informed U.S. there won’t be tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, Trump says

U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters after landing at Reading Regional Airport on June 23, 2026 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran had informed him there would be no tolls, insurance costs, or charges of any kind for ships looking to pass through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

"Additionally, no money has been given to Iran, or released from their money to them, by the U.S. We will be releasing some of their money, that is totally controlled by us, to our Farmers and Ranchers, for the purchase of Corn, Wheat, Soybeans, and more," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"Food is desperately needed in Iran, and we will be purchasing it for them exclusively from the United States," he added. Read more.

— Sam Meredith

Arm, Worthington Enterprises and Wendy's among the names making moves before the bell

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

  • Arm Holdings — The semiconductor company rose 3% after it received price target hikes from analysts at both UBS and TD Cowen. Both said that the company's CPU business' outlook has improved amid the shift toward the chip as agentic AI becomes more and more popular. 
  • Worthington Enterprises — The industrial manufacturer tumbled 10% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter results that missed expectations. In its last quarter, Worthington earned an adjusted 97 cents per share on revenue of $371.5 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting earnings of $1.06 per share and $386.5 million in revenue.
  • Wendy's — Shares were surging as the stock became one of the most discussed on the Reddit investing community r/Wallstreetbets, according to data from Swaggy Stocks. Wendy's has a short interest of around 23% of its float, according to S3 Partners, potentially setting up a short squeeze.

Read the full list here.

— Davis Giangiulio

Cerebras falls sharply after its first earnings report as public company

Revenue doubled for Cerebras Systems over the last year, but that wasn't the focus for investors after the company delivered its first earnings report since its IPO. 

Shares of the chipmaker were off more than 10% after it forecasted a smaller gross margin in the second quarter. It still expects strong revenue growth, though.

However, TD Cowen analyst Joshua Buchalter in a Tuesday note wrote that the gross margin worries are a distraction, as they were previously forecasted and came in actually above previous estimates. 

"GM% guidance was better than expected on improved pricing, better utilization of its current cloud footprint, and a small amount of rentals," Buchalter wrote. "In particular, stronger pricing power (we think even with existing contracts) is a positive sign of Cerebras' value in fast inference and a positive at large for AI compute providers as demand continues to exceed supply."

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Cerebras five-day.

— Davis Giangiulio

Micron rises ahead of earnings

Micron shares were up nearly 3% in the premarket, with the memory chipmaker looking to claw back some of its steep losses from the previous session. The stock dropped 13% on Tuesday, marking its worst day since June 5.

Traders are now awaiting the company's fiscal third-quarter results, due after the bell Wednesday.

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MU 5-day chart

— Fred Imbert

UK finance minister speculation continues

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer speaks during CNBC's Invest In America Forum in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2026.
CNBC

A former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and ally of the U.K.'s likely next prime minister questioned reports that the country's finance minister, Rachel Reeves, is set to lose her job.

The BBC and the Financial Times reported overnight that Andy Burnham, who is currently the sole contender to replace Keir Starmer, would demote Reeves from Chancellor of the Exchequer to a more junior role should he become prime minister.

Jim O'Neill told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Wednesday: "I'm not sure whether that talk this morning is actually entirely accurate."

O'Neill, a member of the U.K.'s House of Lords, said that he has not been offered an official advisory position by Burnham, but is sharing "noisy opinions" with him.

"Everybody on the greasy pole of political party stuff wants to be in on the act, so there's loads of people who are probably pushing to be chancellor," he said.

He said the U.K. bond market had "learned to really respect" the so-called fiscal rules set out by Reeves, which aim to ensure day-to-day spending is funded by tax receipts, rather than borrowing, and to lower the U.K.'s national debt.

"Andy's got to take that into consideration," O'Neill added. "I think Rachel gets a bad rap quite often."

O'Neill said he had advised Burnham that there "shouldn't be so much focus on who the person is" when it comes to selecting a finance minister.

— Chloe Taylor

FedEx falls 7% in premarket after strong earnings, freight business spinoff

FedEx dropped 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday, a day after the courier reported strong earnings, and as its freight business was spun off earlier this month.

The company reported $25 billion in revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with the expected $24 billion, according to analysts surveyed by LSEG. It also saw earnings per share of $6.31 compared with $5.96 expected.

This was the last earnings report that included the company's freight business, which became an independent publicly traded company called FedEx Freight on June 1.

FedEx shares also declined 6% in after-hours, which Citi analysts said was "largely unjustified" due to the better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

"High expectations into earnings, FDX's strong advance over the past year (+75%), and lack of comprehensive stand-alone financials probably explain the after-hours decline, but we see FDX executing well with operational momentum & upside as it gets past near-term uncertainty," the analysts said in a note on Wednesday.

Citi maintained its buy rating for FedEx and said the company is "executing well," but noted that shares could trade flat for a period "given post-spin uncertainties."

— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Laya Neelakandan

Brent crude falls below $76, its lowest level since before Iran war

Oil storage tanks at the Cushing crude oil storage terminal in Cushing, Oklahoma, US, on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
Nick Oxford | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Brent crude futures have fallen to their lowest level since before the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28. The international oil price benchmark was last seen at $75.59, a slide of 1.93%.

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Brent crude.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures also traded lower Wednesday, at $71.88, a 1.82% dip.

— Hugh Leask

European defense stocks plummet

German Rheinmetall MAN tactical military transport vehicles parked in the Edvard Peperko military barracks.
Luka Dakskobler | Lightrocket | Getty Images

European defense stocks plummeted on Wednesday morning, following reports that Germany is set to abandon plans to build warships.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that lawmakers in Berlin had decided to shelve a multibillion-euro project to build six F126 frigates.

German munition maker Rheinmetall, a big beneficiary of German government contracts, fell as much as 13% in morning trading. Other German-listed stocks Hensoldt and Renk fell 5% and 3.8%, respectively. Sweden's Saab traded 3.1% lower, Italy's Leonardo was down 3.7%, and the British giant BAE Systems fell 1.6%.

Read more here.

— Chloe Taylor, Elsa Ohlen

Asia-Pacific markets close mixed; South Korea's Kospi rebounds 3% after sharp selloff

Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed as investors assessed whether a rebound in technology shares could stabilize sentiment after Wall Street's sell-off.

Japan's Nikkei 225 declined 0.88% to 69,174.97, while South Korea's Kospi jumped more than 3% in volatile trading to 8,471.02, recovering from a 10% decline the day before. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 ended the session 0.24% higher at 8,808.4.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.36% to 23,420.4, while the mainland CSI 300 was up 0.48%, ending the trading day at 4,943.02.

— Lee Ying Shan

European stocks start Wednesday's session in mixed territory

European stocks were in mixed territory in early dealmaking Wednesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 hovering around the flatline shortly after the market open.

Regional sectors were mixed, with household goods adding more than 1%, and food and beverages and chemicals each advancing almost 0.7%. Utilities led losses, sliding 0.64%, with financial services stocks about 0.57% lower.


Meanwhile, a majority of major bourses were in the red. In Paris, the CAC 40 was 0.13% higher, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was 0.13% lower shortly after 8:10 a.m. in London (3:10 a.m. E.T.). In Milan, the Italian FTSE MIB shed 0.16%, as Germany's DAX shed 0.46% in Frankfurt.

— Hugh Leask

Gold and silver continue to slide

Gold and silver bars of various sizes at the precious metals dealer Pro Aurum in Munich.
Sven Hoppe | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Precious metals slipped further in early dealmaking Wednesday after selling off in the previous session.

Gold futures were trading 1.42% lower at $4,089.50 shortly after 6:50 a.m. in London (1:50 a.m. E.T.). Spot prices of bullion were last seen down 0.88%, at $4,072.31.

Meanwhile, silver futures were trading at $61.64, a 0.69% slide, while spot silver was 0.75% lower at $61.56.

On Tuesday, gold and silver slumped 1.3% and 5%, respectively, as investors gauged the prospect of Federal Reserve rate hikes under new chair Kevin Warsh.

Higher interest rates traditionally weigh on non-yielding safe-haven assets like precious metals.

— Hugh Leask

Oil extends decline as Trump accuses oil firms of ‘gouging’ consumers

Oil extended losses during Asian trading hours on Wednesday as concerns over potential supply disruptions eased, while investors monitored developments in the Strait of Hormuz.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 0.91% to $76.38 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August dropped 0.94% to $72.52 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized oil companies for not lowering gasoline prices in line with the recent decline in crude prices.

"In other words, customers are being "gouged." I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I'm seeing!," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

— Justina lee

VIX owner Cboe jumps into prediction markets

Traders work in the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) options pit at the Cboe Global Markets exchange in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Jim Vondruska | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Global markets operator Cboe has launched its first prediction markets product, the latest financial-markets company working to capitalize on consumer demand in the fast-growing sector.

The offering includes binary option contracts based on the Mini-S&P 500 Index, the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

Cboe's contracts are available on Interactive Brokers and will roll out at Charles Schwab over the coming months, the company said. Additional retail brokerage platforms will offer access over time, it added.

The firm is looking to build on the fast growth of its zero-day-to-expiry, or 0DTE, options, according to JJ Kinahan, head of retail expansion and alternative investment products at Cboe, in the statement

Prediction markets, which allow users to speculate on real-world events such as sports and even political outcomes, have been gaining popularity among investors.

— Justina Lee

Asian tech stocks rebound after global rout; Samsung up 9%

Asia's technology stocks rebounded on Wednesday after a bruising session that sent global equities lower.

South Korea's semiconductor heavyweights led Wednesday's bounce during early Asia hours. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose over 9%, while SK Hynix gained more than 4%, recovering part of the more than 12% decline posted by both on Tuesday. 

Both chip giants are major constituents of the benchmark Kospi Index, which is up more than 3% after falling 10% in the previous session.

Samsung SDI climbed 2.99%, while Seoul Semiconductor advanced 5.2%.

The rebound extended to Japan's technology sector, where chip-equipment maker Advantest rose 0.6%, SoftBank Group added 1.5% and laser equipment manufacturer Lasertec gained 0.3%. 

Chinese technology stocks also advanced, with heavyweight names including Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, Xiaomi and Kuaishou trading higher in Hong Kong. Baidu climbed more than 2%, while Xiaomi, Tencent and Kuaishou rose between 0.9% and 1.3%.

Wedbush Securities' Dan Ives said recent channel checks across Asia and enterprise AI demand trends showed "no cracks in the armor," arguing that the selloff in South Korean technology stocks was more likely a pause after a near 100% rally in the Kospi this year, rather than a sign of weakening fundamentals. 

—Lee Ying Shan

Oil slips as markets focus on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Oil tankers and cargo vessels remain anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos on June 21, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.
Elke Scholiers | Getty Images

Oil prices edged lower Wednesday as investors watched developments around tanker traffic and maritime operations in the Strait of Hormuz.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 0.45% to $76.73 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August dropped 0.48% to $72.86 per barrel.

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Over 11,000 seafarers stuck in the Persian Gulf will begin to exit through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization.

"We have secured the necessary safety guarantees and have thoroughly verified the conditions for safe navigation to support these operations," IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.

Dominguez added that it will be carried out "in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal States in the region, the United States and the maritime industry."

The Strait of Hormuz is a key route for global energy supplies, with about 20% of oil shipments passing through the waterway before the Iran conflict.

— Justina Lee

Asia-Pacific markets open mixed amid choppy trading; Kospi up 3%

Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Wednesday as investors assessed whether a rebound in technology shares could stabilize sentiment after a sharp Wall Street sell-off triggered steep losses across the region a day earlier.

South Korea's Kospi jumped over 3% after posting a 10% fall the day before. Index heavyweights SK Hynix rose 2.7%, while Samsung Electronics was up over 8%.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.28%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded around the flatline.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 23,498, higher than the index's last close of 23,336.28.

— Lee Ying Shan

MSCI keeps South Korea as emerging market, delays Indonesia review amid downgrade risk

Currency dealers talk in front of a screen showing South Korea's benchmark stock index (KOSPI) in a foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul on June 23, 2026.
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images

Index provider MSCI kept South Korea classified as an "emerging market" in its most recent review on Tuesday, while extending its assessment of Indonesia's status until November.

The decision dashed hopes that Seoul could be included in MSCI's Developed Markets watchlist, a crucial step before a market can be upgraded to developed-market status. For Indonesia, the extended review comes after MSCI raised concerns about market accessibility earlier this year and froze the country's stocks from its indexes in January, citing investability concerns.

MSCI said that it would continue evaluating reforms introduced by Indonesian authorities, but should these measures prove insufficient, the index provider would "consider a range of options for the appropriate treatment for the Indonesia market," including a potential downgrade to frontier-market status.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie

Asia-Pacific markets set to fall, tracking Wall Street tech slide

Asia-Pacific markets were set to fall on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street losses as a tech sell-off that began during the prior session picked up steam overnight.


Japan's Nikkei 225 was poised to fall, with the Chicago futures contract at 69,425 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 69,290, compared with the index's previous close of 69,788.38.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 23,498, higher than the index's last close of 23,336.28.

In Australia, futures traded around the same levels as the S&P/ASX 200's previous close of 8,787.

— Lee Ying Shan

Six of the 11 GICS sectors rise on Tuesday

On Tuesday, six of the 11 GICS sectors ended the session higher.

Gains were led by the consumer staples sector, up 1.77%. Healthcare and real estate stocks were the day's second- and third-best performers, respectively rising 1.37% and 1.35%.

On the other hand, a rout in technology stocks made the sector the day's worst performers, down 3.66%. The industrials and materials sectors followed, notching losses of 2.03% and 1.60%, respectively.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: FedEx, Cerebras and more

A FedEx truck drives along a crowded street on June 23, 2026 in San Francisco, California.
Heather Diehl | Getty Images

These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:

  • FedEx — Shares shed about 6% after revenue in the fourth quarter narrowly beat Wall Street's expectations.
  • Cerebras — The semiconductor company dropped 11% after posting its first earnings report since going public in May. Cerebras forecast a decline in core gross margin.
  • KB Home — The homebuilder added 3% after posting a fiscal second-quarter revenue of $1.11 billion, beating the $1.10 billion analysts had penciled in, per LSEG.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Nasdaq 100 futures open higher

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3% on Tuesday evening.

S&P 500 futures added 0.1%, while Dow futures were trading marginally higher.

— Lisa Kailai Han