US Stocks Close: FOMC Sparks Rate Hike Expectations to Pressure Markets, Three Major Indexes Fall Across the Board, Nasdaq Drops for Second Day, SpaceX Reverses Gains to Fall 5%

TradingKey - On June 17, Eastern Time, the interest rate dot plot released by the Federal Reserve delivered a clearly hawkish signal. Reignited expectations of rate hikes put pressure on the market, causing all three major indexes to weaken, with the Nasdaq falling for a second consecutive day.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.98% to 51,492.55 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.34% to 26,021.66 points; and the S&P 500 Index declined 1.21% to 74,201.10 points.

Performance of tech stocks

SpaceX (SPCX) closed down 4.95% at $191.82, with its latest market capitalization standing at $2.52 trillion, currently ranking as the sixth-largest company in the U.S., shedding approximately $50 million in market value from yesterday's intraday high.

Michael Burry stated that he currently holds neither a long nor a short position in SpaceX. The primary reason is not based on a judgment of the company's fundamentals, but rather that the cost of shorting is currently at an unbearably high level. Burry remarked that SpaceX is essentially just "a small aerospace enterprise, a niche-market telecom operator, a troubled social media company, and a 'CoreWeave-light' computing power provider," with annual revenue of less than $20 billion, yet corresponding to a market valuation of approximately $3 trillion.

Large-cap tech stocks fell across the board, with Broadcom (AVGO) rising 4.30% and TSMC (TSM) up 1.48%; on the downside, Meta Platforms (META) fell 5.44%, SpaceX (SPCX) dropped 4.95%, Microsoft (MSFT) fell 3.79%, Amazon (AMZN) fell 3.46%, Google (GOOGL) fell 2.53%, Tesla (TSLA) fell 2.05%, Nvidia (NVDA) fell 1.34%, and Apple (AAPL) fell 1.10%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed up 1.38% at 13,477.07 points; among its 30 constituents, 16 advanced and 14 declined. Arm Holdings (ARM) rose 5.69%, Applied Materials (AMAT) gained 4.35%, Broadcom (AVGO) climbed 4.30%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) surged 3.90%, and ASML (ASML) advanced 3.54%.

Storage concept stocks bucked the trend to post gains, with Western Digital (WDC) rising 4.56%, Seagate Technology (STX) up 3.37%, and Micron Technology (MU) gaining 2.20%.

According to ComputerBase's price tracking data for the three major storage categories—memory, HDDs, and SSDs—the current storage shortage crisis is far from over. In mid-June, HDD prices surged significantly, while memory and SSD prices also rose. Industry forecasts indicate that the memory shortage will persist until at least the second half of 2026, with no signs of price drops yet. The increase in HDD prices is even more staggering: last month, the average HDD price rose 88% from the baseline, and this month it broke through the 100% threshold to reach 107%, meaning the current price of HDDs is more than double what it was previously.

US-listed Chinese stocks mostly declined, with KE Holdings (BEKE) falling 3.72%, Li Auto (LI) dropping 3.28%, Alibaba (BABA) down 3.18%, XPeng (XPEV) declining 2.96%, and Tencent Music (TME) shedding 2.47%.

Corporate News

Stellantis is in talks with two potential partners over its Maserati business, clarifying that there are no plans for an asset sale.

The CEO of Stellantis confirmed during an Italian parliamentary hearing that the company is moving forward with partnership talks with two potential partners for the Maserati brand. The collaboration covers dimensions including technology integration and product R&D, while simultaneously coordinating capacity planning at relevant manufacturing plants; no final partner has been selected yet.

Addressing concerns from local politicians and labor unions, Filosa made a clear commitment: neither the Maserati brand nor the underutilized Cassino production plant will be sold. The plant's development will be deeply linked with Maserati, and the brand's positioning as an Italian luxury icon will remain unchanged. A new strategic plan for Maserati will be officially released in December, featuring two core new models.

TrendForce projects this year will be a critical verification period for TSMC's CoPoS equipment and materials.

TrendForce noted that TSMC is currently focusing on CoPoS, targeting a substrate size of 310×310 mm. The research firm expects 2026 to be the critical verification phase for related equipment and material suppliers, followed by trial production in 2027 and official mass production in the second half of 2028. Furthermore, TSMC's next-phase strategic focus is expected to shift to glass substrates, with mass production likely to be achieved after 2030.

Intel's 18A-P process node enters risk production stage.

Intel has announced that '18A-P,' the upgraded version of its 18A process node, has officially entered the risk production stage. Based on the 18A node that entered mass production in the fourth quarter of last year, the Intel 18A-P process is optimized for data center CPUs as well as artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) semiconductor manufacturing.

Industry & Macro News

June FOMC Meeting: Dot Plot Revised Significantly Higher, 9 Back Rate Hike This Year

The Federal Reserve's latest policy statement indicated that the central bank chose to hold rates steady at this meeting, keeping the federal funds rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range.

The dot plot released alongside this Fed rate decision sent a clear hawkish signal. The median rate was projected at 3.8%, a sharp upward revision from the 3.4% forecast in March. Fed officials now generally believe that the number of rate cuts in 2026 will contract significantly, with only a few rate cuts expected this year. Consequently, the federal funds rate will remain elevated for an extended period, lengthening the "higher-for-longer" interest rate cycle.

JPMorgan: Fed Has Entered Rate-Hike Preparation Phase

Newly appointed Fed Chair Warsh delivered a hawkish performance in his first policy meeting, with the magnitude of the policy shift far exceeding market pricing. Bob Michele, Head of Fixed Income at JPMorgan Asset Management, noted that half of the committee members supporting a rate hike this year serves as a clear warning to the market that the Fed has entered a rate-hike preparation phase.

JPMorgan: AI Boom to Reinvigorate Stock Market

JPMorgan recommended continuing to overweight risk assets such as equities in the second half of the year. The firm believes that the AI capex boom, alongside resilient consumer spending supported by the wealth effect, will continue to drive economic expansion. Combined with strong corporate earnings growth, the stock market maintains a solid foundation for further gains.

The firm also warned of risks: the current bull market is entering its fourth year, and market concentration risk is highly elevated. The AI sector is the epicenter of speculative sentiment and a primary area of concern for future bear-market risks. Throughout 2026, the market will remain locked in a tug-of-war between bulls and bears, as high valuations, geopolitical conflicts, tariff risks, and political polarization continue to drive volatility.