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June 23, 2026 - 02:59
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks tracked technology-led losses on Wall Street with investors continuing to monitor developments in US-Iran peace talks.MSCI Inc.’s gauge of regional shares fell as much as 0.7% in early trading. S&P 500 futures also slipped after a slide in megacap tech stocks and rising bond yields dragged the US benchmark down 0.4% Monday. SpaceX shares declined for a third straight day, shedding hundreds of billions of dollars in value.Brent crude prices largely held Monday’s losses to trade around $78 a barrel as the US issued a 60-day license allowing Iran to sell oil on the international market. The move gives Tehran an economic lifeline as the two adversaries are poised to continue discussions to reach a permanent peace deal.“The weakness in mega tech overnight is putting pressure on market sentiment,” said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at online brokerage IG International. “While the US-Iran peace deal continues to make progress, there are still fundamental differences on how both countries interpret the terms.”SpaceX plunged 16% after saying it’s selling investment-grade bonds in what’s expected to be a massive borrowing spree. Its bond sale is the latest in a wave of deals from companies driving the AI boom. Alphabet, Amazon.com Inc. and others have raised more than $300 billion of debt tied to AI since November across multiple credit markets. The rocket firm is seeking to raise at least $20 billion, Bloomberg reported.Micron Technology Inc.’s quarterly results on Wednesday will be a critical test of whether AI spending can sustain its own rally — the shares are up more than 300% this year — as well as the run-up across tech.While geopolitical developments are likely to remain a key source of volatility in the near term, shifts in investor confidence regarding the durability of the AI rally may also lead to bouts of market swings, according to Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi at UBS Chief Investment Office.Expectations that an agreement will be reached, as well as the revival of the AI trade and solid corporate earnings, have fueled a 14% advance in the S&P 500 Index this quarter. However, that trails the 26% surge in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Benchmarks in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan’s Nikkei 225 have each soared at least 40%.Meanwhile, Treasuries fell on Monday as trading resumed following a US public holiday, even as oil prices turned lower Iran said there had been “major progress” in all-night discussions with the US. Strategists cited Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s hawkish messaging last week as one of the reasons for the selling pressure. Bond traders are looking to this week’s personal spending data in the US for an early read on whether the market’s newly hawkish stance is warranted.“Fed rate hike expectations haven’t gone away, and this week’s PCE is the real test,” said Dilin Wu, a strategist at Pepperstone Group.In currency markets, the Japanese yen lingered near its lowest level since 1986 as investors weighed the prospects for a lasting US-Iran peace deal and the risk of intervention by Japanese authorities. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed after rising 0.2% on Monday.Elsewhere, Andy Burnham appears set to become the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade after Keir Starmer laid out a timeline for his own departure and potential rivals backed a quick transition to the popular Manchester politician. While markets showed little reaction to the resignation, they were buoyed by reduced odds of a leadership contest that could have prolonged uncertainty.Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures were little changed as of 9:52 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures rose 0.3% Japan’s Topix fell 0.3% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.4% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was unchanged The euro was little changed at $1.1426 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.61 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7783 per dollar The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to $0.6989 CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 0.5% to $64,040.26 Ether fell 0.3% to $1,727.37 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 4.50% Japan’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 2.670% Australia’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to 4.80% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $74.04 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Carmeli Argana.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
