Markets News, June 23, 2026: Stocks Fall as Tech Sell-Off Expands to Memory, Chips; SpaceX Rebounds Off Record Low

Markets News, June 23, 2026: Stocks Fall as Tech Sell-Off Expands to Memory, Chips; SpaceX Rebounds Off Record Low Colin Laidley Tue, June 23, 2026 at 2:39 PM GMT+2 15 min read SPCX ^IXIC ^DJI SNDK GOOG Tech continued to weigh on the major indexes Tuesday as memory and chip stocks slumped. Credit: Spencer Platt / Getty Images The major stock indexes fell on Tuesday as yesterday's tech sell-off deepened and spilled over into memory and chip stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.

2%, with the benchmark S&P 500 shed 1. 4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0. 1%.

Stocks ended Monday's session mostly lower , with slumping big tech stocks dragging the Nasdaq down more than 1% to start the week. The tech stock rout that sank Alphabet ( GOOG ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) about 5% each yesterday expanded on Tuesday to include high-flying chip and memory stocks that have led the market to records in recent months. Sandisk ( SNDK ), the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year, tumbled 14%, the worst showing of any stock in the index on Tuesday.

Western Digital ( WDC ) and Micron ( MU ), the index's second- and third-top stocks, fell 8% and 13%, respectively. The memory stock sell-off in Asian markets caused South Korea's Kospi index, dominated by chip firms like Samsung and SK Hynix, to plummet 10% on Tuesday. SpaceX ( SPCX ) stock eked out a 1% gain after trading at its lowest price ever early in the session.

Shares fell for a third straight day yesterday to notching their lowest close since SpaceX's blockbuster IPO earlier this month. Other mega-cap tech stocks were mixed, with Alphabet extending yesterday's losses and AI chip giant Nvidia ( NVDA ) falling 4%. Tesla ( TSLA ), the only Magnificent Seven stock to rise yesterday, lost 6%.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) rose 2% to pace the group. Oil prices continued to decline after the U. S.

yesterday agreed to lift sanctions on Iranian oil sales for two months as the countries negotiate a peace deal. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U. S.

benchmark, declined about 1% to $73. 40 a barrel, while Brent, the global benchmark, fell to $76. 90.

West Texas and Brent went for about $67 a barrel and $73 a barrel, respectively, on the eve of the war in Iran. The 10-year Treasury yield , which influences interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, ticked down to 4. 50% from 4.

51% on Monday. Bitcoin was trading at $62,400 in the late afternoon, down from highs above $65,000 yesterday. Gold futures declined nearly 2% to $4,125 a troy ounce.

The U. S. dollar index , which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, climbed 0.

4% to 101. 40. JUNE 23, 2026 AT 07:44 PM GMT IBM Is Defying Tuesday's Tech Rout.

Here's Why the Stock Is Surging International Business Machines is weathering  Tuesday's tech pullback  better than most, thanks to a fresh vote of confidence on Wall Street, and a boost from the federal government. Story Continues Shares of IBM ( IBM ) were up 4% in recent trading to $263, making it one of the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 on a day when the index declined, after JPMorgan analysts upgraded the stock to "overweight" from neutral, and lifted their price target to $291 from $270 .  Five of the six analysts with current rating tracked by Visible Alpha have issued "buy" or equivalent ratings for the stock, with a mean target of $322.

The JPMorgan analysts said they think investors could be underappreciating the potential of IBM's software business, and that they have increased confidence about the segment's growth over the second half of this year, thanks in part to signs of growing AI adoption. "AI is a direct tailwind for software," they wrote. IBM could also stand to benefit from the U.

S. government's moves to grow America's quantum computing industry. The Trump administration earlier today announced a pair of executive orders aimed at fast-tracking developments in quantum computing.

Fellow quantum firm  D-Wave Quantum  ( QBTS ) also gained alongside IBM Tuesday, with shares up 2% in recent trading. The expanded federal support efforts also come just a month after the Trump administration  announced plans to take stakes  in a number of public and private quantum firms in exchange for  CHIPS Act funding , with $1 billion set to go to IBM. Even with Tuesday's gains, IBM shares are down about 12% from where they started the year, and have dropped about a fifth from their highs in early June.

- Aaron McDade JUNE 23, 2026 AT 06:47 PM GMT SpaceX Stock Joins Major Index Funds—What Regular Investors Need to Know Now SpaceX's ( SPCX )  volatility  could hit home for many investors—even for those who didn't buy a single share. The newly debuted stock is down more than 25% from last week's highs, though it was recovering ground Tuesday despite a  broad tech sector rout . Its performance will matter to a wider swath of investors than before because the stock was just included in major indexes and prominent funds that track them.

Vanguard's Total Stock Market ETF ( VTI ) and BlackRock's iShares Core S&P Total U. S. Stock Market ETF ( ITOT ) have modest weightings in SpaceX as of this week, according to their respective holdings information.

Those funds bought the stock, mirroring indexes from the Center for Research in Security Prices and S&P Dow Jones, which were  among the first wave  to include it. SpaceX's entry into the zeitgeist—it was the talk of the town in the months leading up to its  record IPO —inspired major index providers to  tweak their rules  to fast-track the stock into their products. That will continue to  ripple across the funds complex  as others add it.

FTSE Russell and MSCI are set to add it in the coming days. If SpaceX keeps rising, investors won't mind. And it bodes well for their portfolios that major index inclusions tend to provide a bit of lift in the days leading up to the event, as funds that need to do so buy the stock.

However, hot new stocks have a historical tendency to pop, and then  fizzle in the first few years  in the public market, and lag benchmarks. For now, investors in index funds such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market and iShares Core S&P Total U. S.

Stock Market will have to squint to notice SpaceX's influence, because the stock is just one of thousands of other holdings and makes up a fraction of a percentage point in terms of portfolio weight. Funds tracking the Nasdaq 100, which will hold a relatively larger chunk of the stock, may see bigger hits, up or down. SpaceX could be added to the Nasdaq 100 as soon as early July.

After three straight sessions of losses, SpaceX shares were up 3% recently at around $159. They fell as low as $147 early in the session, dipping below their opening price of $150 on the first day of trading on June 12. The company priced its IPO at $135.

- Crystal Kim JUNE 23, 2026 AT 05:59 PM GMT AMC Stock Falls as Theater Chain Agrees to Second Stock Sales This Month Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings ( AMC ) plummeted on Tuesday after the movie theater chain announced plans to sell $200 million of new stock. AMC on Tuesday said it had entered an agreement with institutional investors to sell them 95 million new shares, equal to about 15% of the company’s outstanding stock as of early May. The company said it would use the proceeds to pay $125 million of debt due next year, and use the remainder for general corporate purposes and to strengthen its balance sheet.

AMC expects the offering to close on Wednesday. This week’s stock sale is AMC’s second of 2026. The company completed a $150 million at-the-money stock offering earlier this month.

CEO Adam Aron at the time said the additional funding “strengthens our balance sheet, bolsters our cash reserves and provides additional flexibility to support our long-term strategic objectives. ” Shares of AMC fell about 25% to $2. 08, their lowest price in weeks.

Despite Tuesday’s losses, shares of AMC are up about 30% since the start of the year, though they were up more than 80% at the end of last week. JUNE 23, 2026 AT 05:05 PM GMT Qualcomm Slumps as Acquisition Reports Coincide With Chip Rout Shares of Qualcomm ( QCOM ) fell on Tuesday as reports of a pending acquisition of an AI software company landed amid a chip stock rout. Qualcomm is in discussions to acquire AI infrastructure software firm Modular Inc.

for an estimated $4 billion, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The deal could be announced in the coming weeks. Qualcomm shares were down 8.

5% in recent trading as a broad chip stock sell-off weighed on the major stock indices. The stock has struggled to keep up with peers like Nvidia ( NVDA ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) that dominate the market for AI data center chips. After rallying in April and May, shares are up 30% in the past 12 months, a modest gain compared to the PHLX Semiconductor Index’s ( SOX ) 160% increase.

Qualcomm plans to host an investor day on Wednesday, and ahead of the event Bank of America analysts raised their price target on the stock to $195 from $165. Still, they maintained their underperform rating, citing Qualcomm’s late entry into “a fast-growing but hyper competitive AI market full of large incumbents. ” JUNE 23, 2026 AT 03:57 PM GMT SpaceX Rises Amid Tech Rout.

The Stock Has Been On a Wild Ride Since Its IPO It's been a wild ride for SpaceX's stock since its debut earlier this month, with Tuesday shaping up to be another volatile session. Shares of SpaceX ( SPCX ) were up 4% around $161 in recent trading, after briefly dropping to a new intraday low of $147 earlier in the session. The stock's swings between gains and losses came as a  tech sell-off  that started Monday extended into a second day, dragging many of the market's biggest names lower.

Yesterday, SpaceX had tumbled 16% to  close at $155, its lowest close  since its blockbuster debut on June 12. It was the stock's third straight day of declines, after SpaceX rallied as high as $225 in its first three days of trading. Credit: Michael Nagle / Bloomberg / Getty Images SpaceX announced a bond sale of an undisclosed size on Monday, and said it intends to use the proceeds to pay off some of its debts.

The company said it had just over $100 billion in cash and cash equivalents on hand as of the end of last week. SpaceX's relatively small share float and the speculative, long-term nature of some of its businesses could mean the stock may  stay volatile for a while , some experts have warned. Joining major stock indexes, and the end of lock-up periods that would allow insiders to sell shares, could also become catalysts for big stock moves.

- Aaron McDade JUNE 23, 2026 AT 03:05 PM GMT Memory, Chip Rout Hits Popular DRAM ETF The memory stock rally skidded to a halt on Tuesday as yesterday’s tech sell-off expanded to new industries and countries. The Roundhill Memory ETF ( DRAM ) was down about 12% in recent trading after climbing to a record high on Monday. Tuesday’s sell-off erased two days of big gains for the fund.

One of the selling points of an ETF is its diversification. By investing across sectors or buying several stocks within a given industry or theme, investors should enjoy some protection from double-digit losses during sell-offs. But DRAM invests exclusively in companies that design, make, and sell memory chips and data storage devices, “the bottleneck of the AI revolution.

” Those stocks often move in tandem as Wall Street’s appetite for AI investments ebbs and flows. That was the case on Tuesday, when Sandisk ( SNDK ) tumbled 12% to lead the S&P 500 lower. It was followed closely by Micron ( MU ), down 11%.

Western Digital ( WDC ) and Seagate Technology ( STX ), two other holdings, were down 10% and 7%, respectively. But DRAM was underperforming all of its largest U. S.

components on Tuesday in part because of its massive exposure to tech stocks abroad. SK Hynix and Samsung, which together account for 44% of the ETF, each plummeted 12. 5% in Korean trading on Tuesday.

Those two stocks and Micron—DRAM’s largest component—cumulatively make up nearly three-quarters of the fund. Due to its concentration, DRAM is a uniquely volatile fund, delivering investors big daily gains and big daily losses. Shares tumbled more than 15% in a day earlier this month after a surprisingly strong jobs report all but dashed Wall Street's hopes for more interest rate cuts this year.

The ETF jumped 8% the following session, and 13% days after that. Prior to Tuesday, DRAM was up 190% since it began trading in early April, right around the time that memory stocks shook off pressure from the Iran war and went parabolic. The ETF’s huge gains in its first few months made it one of the fastest-growing funds in history.

It took just 43 days to reach $10 billion in assets under management. As of Monday, the fund was worth $23. 4 billion.

JUNE 23, 2026 AT 02:10 PM GMT Kevin Warsh Revives Alan Greenspan’s Fed Playbook on Inflation Alan Greenspan may be gone, but his economic legacy is alive and well—the Federal Reserve’s current chair has set out to emulate the legendary central banker in several important ways. Kevin Warsh’s chairmanship began in May. In that short time, he has already established several policies that echo those of Greenspan, who  died on Monday at the age of 100 .

Warsh has frequently praised Greenspan, who guided monetary policy during a period of growing prosperity and low inflation in the U. S. economy—a period that came to a crashing end in 2008 with the Great Recession.

Indeed,  Greenspan  was the only former Fed chair Warsh mentioned by name in his swearing-in ceremony in Washington last month. “I intend to fill the role of chairman with energy and purpose just the way Chairman Greenspan did, faithful to the mission and the very best traditions of the Fed,” Warsh said. Warsh’s communication style is a throwback to the Greenspan era in its deliberate lack of “ forward guidance ” to financial markets about what the Fed plans to do in the future.

In his first meeting of the  Federal Open Market Committee  last week, Warsh  cut roughly half the words from the Fed’s policy statement  compared to previous versions, and removed all forward guidance from it. He also declined to make economic projections, although he didn’t stop his fellow FOMC members from doing so. Greenspan was famous (or infamous) for making cryptic statements that kept Fed-watchers guessing.

“Since I've become a central banker, I've learned to mumble with great incoherence,” Greenspan said in 1988. “If I seem unduly clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said. ” Economists have noted the similarities between the two Fed chairs.

“Warsh’s philosophy on Fed communication seems to more closely resemble that of former long-time Chairman Alan Greenspan, who unfortunately passed away earlier today,” Brian Wesbury, chief economist at First Trust, wrote in a commentary. “Not Greenspan’s elegant and winding prose, but Greenspan’s unwillingness to hint strongly about what the Fed would do next. ” Read the full story here for more on how Warsh is keeping Greenspan’s legacy alive.

- Diccon Hyatt JUNE 23, 2026 AT 01:20 PM GMT Cerebras Is Set to Report Its First Earnings Since Its IPO. Here's How Much the Stock Is Expected to Move Cerebras Systems is set to report its first quarterly results as a public company after the closing bell Tuesday, with traders anticipating a big move in the AI chipmaker's stock. Based on current options pricing, Cerebras ( CBRS ) shares are seen swinging up to 13% in either direction by the end of the week.

A move of that magnitude from Monday's close around $224 could see shares rise as high as $254, or drag them below $195. Cerebras shares have lost more than a third of their value from last month's highs on their  first day of trading , though they're still up more than 20% from their IPO price of $185, after a volatile few weeks. Since the chipmaker's debut last month, analysts at several firms have  launched coverage with bullish ratings  for the stock, including Wedbush, UBS, and Morgan Stanley, expecting Cerebras to benefit from booming demand for AI chips.

The analysts also pointed to Cerebras' agreements with the likes of OpenAI and Amazon ( AMZN ) as evidence of its ability to attract high-profile clients in the space. "In our view these large contracts are necessarily the best proof points as to the inherent value of Cerebras's technology," Wedbush wrote. The Wedbush analysts have a $270 price target for the stock, compared to $300 from UBS, and $250 from Morgan Stanley.

Cerebras is seen reporting an adjusted loss of 16 cents per share on an over 80% year-over-year jump in first-quarter revenue to $183. 26 million, according to Visible Alpha consensus estimates. - Aaron McDade JUNE 23, 2026 AT 12:39 PM GMT Stock Futures Slide as Tech Rout Continues Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.

4% in premarket trading. S&P 500 futures slid 1. 4%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down nearly 3% premarket.