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June 23, 2026 - 06:59
5 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Stocks declined as investors rotated out of some of this year’s best-performing technology shares while awaiting further developments in US-Iran peace talks.The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, slid 0.5% while a gauge of Asian equities slumped more than 2% after closing at a record high. A subgauge of regional tech names snapped an eight-day winning run. South Korea’s Kospi plunged over 6% on renewed concern that a rally in heavyweight chip stocks has become overstretched. S&P 500 futures retreated 0.8% while Nasdaq 100 contracts slid 1.3%.The moves came after a slide in megacap tech stocks and rising bond yields dragged the S&P 500 lower on Monday. Elsewhere, oil prices edged lower with Brent trading below $78 a barrel. Gold also retreated.“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.”The dollar was stronger against most major currencies. The Japanese yen lingered near its lowest level since 1986. Traders remained on high alert for intervention after a call between Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.The AI trade has been a key pillar for global equity markets this year, helping MSCI’s gauge of world stocks overcome challenges posed by the Middle East conflict to notch successive record highs, most recently on June 2.Attention is now shifting to memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc.’s quarterly results on Wednesday, which 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.What Bloomberg Strategists Say:“Near-term risks for regional chip stocks include an increasingly unstable market structure and Micron’s earnings after the US close on Wednesday. Concerns are mounting about the prudence of unprecedented AI infrastructure investment from US hyperscalers.”— David Savage, Macro Squawk. Click here for the full analysis.Brent crude edged lower to trade below $78 a barrel after falling more than 3% on Monday, when both Washington and Tehran cited progress in the first round of discussions toward a lasting peace agreement.The US issued a 60-day license allowing Iran to sell oil on the international market, giving it an economic lifeline, but some discrepancies have emerged — Vice President JD Vance said Iran agreed to allow nuclear inspectors into the country, a claim disputed by Tehran.“There is definitely risk aversion in the air,” said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Sydney. “The market is seemingly more worried about big US tech underperformance overnight, while not seeing the bright side from lower oil prices.”Treasuries were steady after falling on Monday even as oil prices turned lower. Strategists cited Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s hawkish messaging last week as one of the reasons for the selling pressure. Bond traders are now 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.Gold declined more than 1% as inflationary concerns overshadowed early optimism around negotiations to resolve the Iran war. Silver lost more than 3%. Bitcoin was down over 1%.“Iran talks shifting to lower-level technical discussions is keeping some uncertainty alive, but the real swing factor this week remains core PCE on Thursday,” said Billy Leung, an investment strategist at Global X Management in Sydney.Corporate Highlights:Nissan Motor Co. shareholders rejected the reappointment of Motoo Nagai to the board, ending the tenure of an influential outside director after he lost the support of key stakeholder Renault SA, following a rare public standoff at Japan’s typically staid annual meetings. Tencent Holdings Ltd. is negotiating exits from several game studio investments in Japan, including Tokyo-traded Marvelous Inc., as part of a reassessment of the company’s global portfolio, people with knowledge of the matter said. Meta Platforms Inc. is investing $900 million into Indian fintech startup Cred, with plans to appoint its founder, Kunal Shah, the new leader of WhatsApp. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures fell 0.8% as of 1:56 p.m. Tokyo time Japan’s Topix fell 1.6% Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.1% The Shanghai Composite fell 0.4% Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 1% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1423 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.60 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7817 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 1.2% to $63,594.98 Ether fell 0.9% to $1,717.16 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 two basis points to 4.79% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.1% to $73.75 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.4% to $4,131.05 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Carmeli Argana and Matthew Burgess.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
