Stock Market Today, June 22: Alphabet Slips on Key Departure and Defensive Blue Chips Gain
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) rose 0.29% to 51,712.71 as investors favored defensive blue chip names, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) slipped 0.37% to 7,472.79 and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) fell 1.32% to 26,166.60 following a retreat in mega-cap technology stocks.
Gold gained 0.90% to $4,189.13 and the 10-Year Treasury yield gained 0.06% to 4.51% as of U.S. market close. The energy and real estate sectors gained, while industrials and communication stocks each fell over 3%.
Today's biggest moves
Micron Technology rose nearly 7% after news of a deal with Anthropic boosted the stock ahead of its earnings this week. Other memory chip stocks like Sandisk also gained.
Space Exploration Technologies tumbled over 16% in its third straight day of declines, after filing a bond offering. Alphabet shares dropped 5% today on news of a key departure from its DeepMind AI unit, and Accenture fell after analysts significantly lowered their price targets.
What this means for investors
Declines from heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon weighed on the Nasdaq today as the U.S. and Iran made progress on a roadmap for peace, driving oil prices down. WTI crude oil fell to around $75 a barrel, the lowest it has been since the start of March.
Goldman Sachs thinks that improving labor conditions and the U.S.-Iran agreement make a recession less likely. Analysts say there is only a 15% risk of a recession in the next year, down from 20% at the start of the conflict.
On the flip side, Jim Paulsen, former CIO at The Leuthold Group, pointed to several warning signs that the stock market could be close to a correction. These include the divergence between consumer sentiment and stock market exuberance, and government spending accounting for a high level of GDP.
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Emma Newbery has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Accenture Plc, Alphabet, Amazon, Goldman Sachs Group, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2028 $260 calls on Accenture Plc and short January 2028 $280 calls on Accenture Plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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