Wall Street Shaken by Tech Stocks, Dow Hits Another Record High Amid Oil Price Plunge

As of the morning of June 17 Korean time, U.S. stock markets closed mixed. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to 7,511.35, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to 51,999.67, marking its second straight record high. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.2% to 26,376.34 as technology and growth stocks came under pressure. Notably, AI leaders such as Nvidia, Broadcom and Micron each dropped between 2% and 6%, weighing on the broader market.

The biggest market mover was oil. Optimism over a draft U.S.–Iran ceasefire plan sent Brent crude futures down more than 5% to $78.96 a barrel—its first drop below $80 since March. While expectations for eased inflationary pressures grew, energy and commodities stocks weakened on concerns over near-term profitability.

On the policy front, the first Federal Open Market Committee meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh began that day. Markets are pricing in a hold on the benchmark interest rate, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dipped slightly to 4.43%. Also released that morning, May housing starts fell more sharply than expected, reigniting fears of an economic slowdown.

Corporate news produced clear winners and losers. Dave & Buster’s plunged more than 6% after reporting disappointing results, and Robinhood shares slipped about 1% following an announcement of a 10% cut in full-time staff. By contrast, SpaceX climbed over 4% after news that it is pursuing the roughly $60 billion acquisition of AI code-writing tool provider Cursor, underscoring strength in the AI infrastructure theme. Although short-term volatility has increased, investors now face the task of gauging the medium-term outlook by balancing cooling oil prices against the Fed’s policy stance.