CNBC — 2026-06-23#

Lead Story#

A vicious global tech sell-off sent shockwaves through international markets, underscored by a massive 10% collapse in South Korea’s Kospi as investors aggressively dumped semiconductor and artificial intelligence darlings.

Markets & Economics#

International markets took a severe hit as the rotation out of the “Magnificent Seven” bled into global equities, headlined by historic drops in memory chip giants SK Hynix and Samsung that triggered a 10% plunge in South Korea’s Kospi. Concurrently, the U.S. Treasury issued a 60-day sanctions waiver allowing Iranian oil sales, easing energy supply concerns and unlocking billions in revenue for Tehran as peace talks progress. Domestically, the S&P manufacturing PMI printed better than expected at 55.7, but underlying data revealed factory job cuts running at their highest levels since 2009 amid escalating costs. Adding to the geopolitical momentum, the U.S. Senate advanced an Iran war powers resolution to end hostilities, though Republican leaders are demanding a formal vote on any final deal to review potential sanctions relief.

Business & Earnings#

FedEx delivered a strong fiscal fourth quarter, posting adjusted earnings of $6.31 per share on $25.01 billion in revenue in its final reporting period before the FedEx Freight spinoff. Oracle disclosed it shed 21,000 jobs, or nearly 13% of its workforce, over the past year to offset massive $55.7 billion capital expenditures for AI data centers. SpaceX continues to face intense selling pressure, shedding 16% on Monday and wiping out $400 billion in market value, even as it taps banks for a massive $25 billion debt sale. Finally, Alphabet is set to replace Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, solidifying megacap tech’s heavy influence on the blue-chip index.

Investing & Commentary#

Despite the violent tech shakeout, Fundstrat strategist Mark Newton sees the Magnificent 7 pullback as a prime buying opportunity, advising investors to look for relative strength rather than indiscriminately chasing weakness. Goldman Sachs is recommending investment-grade bond puts and long-dated payer options as the most effective hedges against a renewed rate shock under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. For those looking to diversify away from the AI momentum trade, Evercore ISI highlighted “negative beta” stocks like Mondelez International and Exxon Mobil to weather broader market corrections.

Also Worth Watching#

• Apollo curbs withdrawals after exit requests hit 17%, reigniting fears over private credit liquidity: Apollo is capping redemptions from its debt solutions vehicle at 5% following a $2.4 billion surge in exit requests, spotlighting liquidity pressures in retail-focused private credit.
• PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp unveils sweeping changes to professional golf: The PGA Tour announced a new competitive model for 2028 featuring a two-track promotion and relegation system, returning match play, and guaranteed $20 million purses for its top tier.
• Meta is building a prediction markets app. These stocks are falling in response: Mark Zuckerberg has directed staff to build a non-cash prediction platform called “Arena,” triggering an immediate intraday drop in sports betting stocks like DraftKings and Flutter Entertainment.
• Trump administration to loan $17 billion to speed deployment of 10 big nuclear reactors in U.S.: The Energy Department will back five projects using Westinghouse AP1000 reactors, anticipating long-term power purchase agreements from tech giants eager to fuel their AI data centers.