26/06/2026
Global markets faced heightened volatility this week. Asian equities retreated sharply driven by a broad sell-off in technology stocks, while international crude oil prices declined alongside mild fluctuations in the U.S. dollar and gold prices. Swinging sentiment toward artificial intelligence investments, spillover pressure from U.S. stock fluctuations and updated macroeconomic data lifted market risk aversion, dragging major benchmarks into correction territory and poised to register their first monthly loss of the quarter.
1. Asian Tech Shares Tumble, Leading Benchmark Losses
After a strong rally on Thursday, Asian technology stocks reversed course and faced aggressive selling on Friday, marking a sharp rise in short-term sector volatility. Regional Asian stock indexes dropped 2%, with the tech-heavy South Korean KOSPI Index plunging more than 4% as the primary drag on local markets.
Major tech giants and industrial chain stocks weakened broadly, including SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics and Kioxia Holdings. Shares of Apple’s Asian suppliers also slid, further weighing on market sentiment. U.S. index futures trended lower in tandem, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.8% and S&P 500 futures falling 0.4%.
SoftBank Group suffered a steep decline, with its stock price plummeting 13%. According to The New York Times, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, intends to postpone its IPO until 2027. The delayed listing is set to extend the return cycle for Japanese investors including SoftBank, prompting a sharp market revaluation of the conglomerate.
2. Wall Street Ends Flat With Divergent Moves Among Magnificent Seven Tech Stocks
Asian market losses followed choppy trading on Wall Street, where key U.S. benchmarks closed flat, failing to sustain early session gains.
U.S. technology stocks showed highly divergent performance. Micron Technology boosted early market sentiment on the back of robust earnings and upbeat outlook. Qualcomm also rallied sharply after forecasting that its AI components for data centers will generate over $15 billion in annual sales by fiscal 2029. Driven by these gains, the Nasdaq 100 surged as much as 2.1% intraday on Thursday before paring gains to a 0.8% close.
Nevertheless, overall market sentiment remained cautious. Apple emerged as the top laggard among the Magnificent Seven, tumbling 6.1%. After raising prices for Mac, iPad and home appliance products, the iPhone maker faced market concerns over softened demand and compressed profit margins. Its decline offset positive momentum from memory chip and AI semiconductor stocks.
3. Commodities Mixed: Oil Slips While Gold Stabilizes
Commodity markets saw mixed and subdued movements. Brent crude oil erased Thursday’s gains and fell below $75 per barrel. Oil prices briefly climbed earlier after a vessel attack in the Strait of Hormuz stoked safety concerns over the critical shipping chokepoint, amid a recent surge in maritime traffic. Fading geopolitical risk sentiment subsequently pulled crude prices lower.
In precious metals, gold prices stabilized after rebounding above $4,000 per ounce in the previous session as market expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes eased. In foreign exchange markets, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged slightly higher after a 0.2% drop on Thursday, halting its three-day winning streak.
4. U.S. Economic Data Eases Fed Hike Expectations
Latest U.S. economic data reflected persistent inflationary pressure alongside solid economic resilience. The core Fed inflation gauge — the May personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index — rose 0.4%, below economists’ median forecast of 0.5%. Even so, the annualized inflation rate climbed to 4.1%, well above the Fed’s 2% target, signaling lingering inflation risks.
On growth, U.S. GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the first quarter, higher than prior estimates and underscoring economic strength. The data triggered a notable shift in bond market sentiment, with investors scaling back bets on near-term Fed rate hikes.
Interest rate swaps linked to Fed policy decisions showed dwindling hike expectations for 2024. Markets now price in approximately 34 basis points of tightening by the December policy meeting, down from 36 basis points at Wednesday’s close. The probability of a rate hike next month has fallen to around one-third.
5. Markets Conclude Volatile Week With Persistent Caution
Global equities wrapped up a turbulent week, with uncertainty over the long-term returns of AI-driven investments triggering extreme swings in tech stocks. While strong earnings and forward guidance from Micron and Qualcomm offered partial support, investor sentiment remained broadly defensive.
Both the MSCI Asia Pacific Index and the S&P 500 Index posted losses in June, on track to notch their first monthly declines of the quarter. Global markets are expected to stay volatile in the near term, driven by fluctuating inflation data, shifting interest rate outlooks and valuation swings across the AI sector.
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