Markets
Luke Kawa

Semiconductor surge sends US stocks higher

The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, the Nasdaq 100 rallied 1.1%, and the Russell 2000 eked out a 0.1% advance on Monday.

Only 180 S&P 500 constituents rose, and many sector ETFs like utilities, real estate, and energy fell more than 1% on the day.

Tech, consumer discretionary, and communication services were the big winners.

New US restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor and other AI-linked technology were not as draconian as the industry feared, sparking a rally across the chip space. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 2.4% on the day, with the likes of Lam Research and Applied Materials having strong showings. 

Super Micro Computer was far and away the best performer in the S&P 500, skyrocketing nearly 30% after an internal review cleared management of any misconduct related to alleged accounting concerns flagged by its former auditor and a short-selling research firm.

Intel initially got an extra boost after the CEO who presided over a $150 billion loss in market capitalization retired, but ended up finishing 0.5% lower.

Jeep maker Stellantis, on the other hand, slumped 6.4% after its CEO resigned this weekend.

Natural-gas stocks like Targa Resources also had down days, as prognostications for a warm winter weighed on the commodity’s price.

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markets
J. Edward Moreno

Stocks rise after US, Iran sign peace plan

Stocks rose Thursday morning after President Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war, in another sign that a months-long war that caused energy prices to spike could be coming to an end.

Trump signed the MOU before a dinner in Versailles, France on Wednesday evening. The president previously announced that a deal had been reached on Sunday evening, saying that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would resume and that the US naval blockade would be lifted.

The deal comes after both sides exchanged attacks last week, escalating tensions to some of the highest levels since the US and Israel struck Iran in late February.

The price of Brent Crude ticked even lower after dropping on Sunday, sitting at about $76 a barrel. Oil giants like Shell, Chevron and Exxon fell on the news, as average gas prices in the US dropped below $4 for the first time in months.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively. Last week, inflation readings for May showed both wholesale inflation and consumer prices rose in large part because of higher energy costs.

Signs of the peace deal have also lead to buying of momentum stocks this week. iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETFrose another 1.46% in premarket trading.

Tasha Matsumoto
15h
Stocks fall after new Fed Chair Warsh’s first policy meeting as traders worry about a rate hike

While the Fed left rates unchanged (as expected) a hawkish dot plot has traders bracing themselves for a rate hike this year.

Brown bear on a rock
Luke Kawa
17h
Federal Reserve removes easing bias, policymakers see a hike as more likely than a cut this year

The knee-jerk move for stocks was to the downside.

Kevin Warsh closeup
markets
Helena Cheng

Figma rises on Citi’s Buy rating and $36 price target

Figma shares are rising moderately in pre-market trading after Citigroup initiated coverage with a Buy rating, saying demand tied to AI could help fuel the design software company’s next phase of growth, according to the note provided by Bloomberg.

Citi set a $36 price target on the stock and said Figma is well-positioned to offset AI disruption concerns through its own AI-driven consumption growth.

"Our proprietary customer and go-to-market (GTM) checks with hyperscalers and large financial services (FS) firms suggest strong seat upgrades & credit pack utilization, which offer positive reads on AI-monetization strategy," analyst Tyler Radke commented.

The company has been moving to roll out AI-native features in recent months, including developer-focused tools and in-house Figma agent aimed at making Figma a more central operating layer between product teams, engineers and AI systems.

Citi also pointed to upcoming product launches and potential monetization tied to Figma’s Model Context Protocol server which is an emerging framework that could allow AI systems to interact more directly with design environments.

Figma’s most recent earnings posted stronger-than-expected revenue growth while management raised its full-year guidance, saying that AI-related products were seeing encouraging adoption.

Still, the company that went public in 2025 has faced intense pressure with stock tumbling more than 50% this year-to-date over fears that automated AI code-generation tools and design alternatives from competitors like Anthropic might squeeze the need for seat-based design software.

Tasha Matsumoto
6/16/26
Semiconductors slump, dragging down stocks

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell as chip stocks and AI-linked names lost steam. Oil prices slid on the prospect of the Strait of Hormuz reopening.

Grizzly bear growling USA.

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