This content was published on
June 23, 2026 - 08:48
6 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Global stocks fell, led by steep losses in South Korea, as investors pulled back from some of this year’s top-performing tech companies on concern they’ve rallied too far.The MSCI All Country World Index, the broadest measure of global equities, lost 0.6%. South Korea’s Kospi tumbled over 9%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt, as SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. sank. S&P 500 and European stock futures dropped more than 1%, while Nasdaq 100 contracts slumped 2%.The moves came after a slide in megacap tech stocks and rising bond yields dragged the S&P 500 lower on Monday. 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. Yet concerns over the potential payoff from massive AI investments, as well as elevated valuations and crowded positioning, have triggered periodic pullbacks in the sector.“The weakness in mega tech overnight is putting pressure on market sentiment,” said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at online brokerage IG International.Elsewhere in markets, the Japanese yen lingered near its lowest level since 1986, with traders on high alert for intervention after a call between Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.A subgauge of Asian tech stocks plunged nearly 5% on Tuesday, snapping an eight-day winning run. 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 retreated more than 1% to under $77 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 firmer 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 1.5% as inflationary concerns overshadowed early optimism around negotiations to resolve the Iran war. Silver lost more than 3%. Bitcoin too was down over 2%.“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. Nomura Holdings Inc and Sony Group Corp. are leading a slew of deals from Asia in global bonds markets on Tuesday, in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest weeks this year overseas for Japanese issuers. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures fell 1.2% as of 7:25 a.m. London time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2.1% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 3.4% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 3.4% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was unchanged at $1.1429 The Japanese yen was little changed at 161.72 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7845 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3243 CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 2.7% to $62,603.39 Ether fell 2.8% to $1,685.11 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.49% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.93% Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.81% CommoditiesBrent crude fell 1.5% to $76.76 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.7% to $4,120.42 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Carmeli Argana, Matthew Burgess and Andre Janse van Vuuren.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
