Morning Preview: June 17, 2026

Early Look

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

U.S. futures are little changed with S&P futures (Spuz) flattish just under the 7,600 level, though Nasdaq futures bounce over 100 points after tumbling the most on Tuesday. Chip stocks rebounded ahead of the first interest rate decision under new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh set for later this afternoon. Policymakers are expected to hold interest rates unchanged at the 3.50%-3.75% range at the FOMC meeting on Wednesday, as they wrestle with inflation pressures from higher oil prices fueled by the Middle East war. Traders see the Fed holding rates through much of the year but are betting on a nearly 43% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in December. Prior to the decision, Wall Street gets May retail sales data at 8:30 am et. Wall Street indexes ended mixed on Tuesday, following a sharp rally Monday that was driven by optimism around a U.S.-Iran peace deal that sent oil prices tumbling and eased inflation fears.  Oil prices hovered near a three‑month low, gold is little changed and yields are steady.

Recent space IPO SpaceX (SPCX) shares jumped a third day on Tuesday, rising 4.8% to settle at $201.80 after hitting highs above $225 giving it a market capitalization of $2.66 trillion, edging past Amazon’s $2.65 trillion to become the fifth largest company by market value and briefly topped Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). All told, SpaceX’s stock has surged about 50% from its IPO price.

In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 497 points to 69,902, the Shanghai Index gained 16 points to 4,108, and the Hang Seng Index fell -181 points to 24,312. In Europe, the German DAX is down a few points to 24,906, while the FTSE 100 edges slightly higher at 10,496. Oil prices steadied on Wednesday, hovering near a three‑month low, as investors weighed the impact of a U.S.-Iran peace deal and the International Energy ‌Agency’s warning of a looming supply overhang next year against firmer near-term demand to replenish depleted inventories. In its first look at 2027, the IEA said the oil market will enter a significant supply overhang, with global supply set to surge ‌by 8 million bpd and demand rising ⁠by just 2 million bpd.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 337.71 points, or 0.65%, to 52,008.74
• The Nasdaq Composite slumped -307.60 points, or 1.15%, to 26,376.34
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -25.56 points, or 0.86% to 2,939.52

• 8:30 AM ET                  Retail Sales M/M for May…est. +0.5% (prior +0.5%)
• 8:30 AM ET                  Retail Sales – Less Autos for May…est. +0.5% (prior +0.7%)
• 10:00 AM ET                Business Inventories M/M for April…est. +0.5% (prior +0.9%)
• 10:00 AM ET                Pending Home Sales M/M for May…est. +0.8%
• 10:30 AM ET                Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 2:00 PM ET FOMC Rate Decision – no change to rates are expected

• Earnings After the Close: SB

• Jefferies Nantucket Consumer Conference, 6/16-6/17, in Nantucket, MA
• Stephens 7^th Annual Summer Bank Bach, 6/17-6/18, in Portland, ME
• Truist 2026 Truist Industrials & Services Conference, 6/16-6/17 in New York

• Japan May exports grow at fastest pace in over three years, beating estimates, as chip demand soars. Japan’s exports in May grew at their fastest pace since November 2022. Exports of Semiconductors surged 61.2% in May, driven by booming demand for artificial Intelligence technology. Japan’s imports rose 12.5% year on year in May, the highest level since January 2025.
• British inflation held at 2.8% in May, unchanged from April’s 13-month low and below forecasts from both economists and the Bank of England. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise to 3.0% for May, and the BoE in April predicted an increase to 3.3%.

• AutoZone (AZO) Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $1.5B of the Company’s common stock.
• CarMax (KMX) Q1 revs rose 6% y/y to $8B vs. est. $7.41B; Q1 EPS fell -5.1% y/y to $1.31; Q1 Gross profit declined 4.4% y/y due to lower retail unit margins from pricing actions; to provide more details on growth strategy at strategic update in late Fall.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) Q4 adj EPS $1.26 vs. est. $0.82; Q4 sales $570.3M vs. est. $569.2M; guides Q1 sales $490M-$510M vs. est. $495.4M and adj operating margin 4%-5.5% after Q4 adj op margin 9.9% up 50 bps versus prior year; Q4 Retail segment written sales increased 11% and delivered sales increased 9%; establishes new share repurchase program authorizing up to $300M.
• Stellantis (STLA), Wayve, and Uber (UBER) announced they have entered a partnership to jointly explore the development and deployment of Level 4 robotaxis at a global scale.
• WeRide (WRD) and Uber (UBER) announced plans to launch commercial Robotaxi services in the Greater Zurich Region, marking their second joint deployment in Europe within weeks.

• First Solar (FSLR) initiated with Underperform and $217 tgt at Bernstein saying the stock’s bull case is entirely contingent on policy, with the market pricing in it being permanent. First Solar has 75% of its gross margin coming from tax credits, which may be vulnerable to a policy change or different administration.
• FMC Corp. (FMC) entered a co-exclusive supply and license agreement with Corteva (CTVA) for rimisoxafen herbicide technology in North and South American corn, soybean markets. Corteva will make an initial prepurchase payment of $200M for product supplied by FMC.
• Transocean Ltd. (RIG) announced contract awards for two of its harsh environment semisubmersibles. In aggregate, the fixtures represent approximately $185M in firm contract backlog. The Transocean Norge was awarded a five-well contract with Harbour Energy in Norway.

• Iqvia (IQV) was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley saying the firm struggles to identify clear drivers of upside for Iqvia relative to the Charles River (CRL) setup while Charles River upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley saying the company is well positioned to benefit given its leading preclinical capabilities.
• Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ) announced 11 late-breaking presentations at Sleep 2026, with results already presented at the meeting. Real-world analyses linked Xywav use in narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia to improved patient outcomes, including signs of lower cardiometabolic risk. A Phase 4 program indicated patients can shift to individualized once- or twice-nightly dosing, supporting broader use in routine Care.

• Ouster (OUST) signed a strategic agreement with AIM Intelligent Machines to supply digital lidar sensors for AI-powered autonomous heavy equipment fleets.