Alphabet's Google to Invest $75 Million in A24 as Part of AI Partnership
Market Chatter: MT Newswires Live $Alphabet(GOOG)$ $Alphabet(GOOGL)$ 43 minutes ago Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google is investing about $75 million in independent studio A24 as part of a new partnership to research and develop artificial intelligence tools for film production and distribution, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the situation. The investment marks the first time Google has taken an equity stake in a film studio and the multiyear, nonexclusive deal does not give Google access to A24's film and television library or other proprietary data, the report said. Google and A24 did not
Market Indicies 18 June 2026 review - where are we now?
As of the market close on June 18, 2026 (latest comprehensive data available), here are the Year-to-Date (YTD) performance figures for the requested indexes and groups. Major Indexes (Price Returns, unless noted) S&P 500: +9.57% (Total Return ~+10.20%, including ~0.63% dividends). NASDAQ Composite: ~+14.09% (stronger recent momentum; Nasdaq-100, a related tech-heavy gauge, at +20.42%). Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA): +7.29%. Wilshire 5000 (FT Wilshire 5000 Full Cap): +9.74%. S&P 500 Breakdown and Magnificent 7 S&P 493 (S&P 500 excluding the Magnificent 7): Has generally outperformed the Mag 7 in 2026 so far, contributing to broader market gains. Exact current YTD not pinned in all sources, but it has led relative performance amid Mag 7 weakness (e.g., earlier in the ye
Debt will fuel the next phase of the market, for better or worse
Why Everything In the Market Just Changed Debt will fuel the next phase of the market, for better or worse. The AI buildout has been driving the market in incredible ways over the past three years. Memory has exploded, fabs are going vertical, and equipment-makers are on a massive hot streak. S&P 500 $S&P 500(.SPX)$ heat map over the past year. What’s unique about this moment is the scale of the value the market has put on all things AI. 45% of the S&P 500’s value is in AI-related stocks. And those stocks aren’t cheap. Over half of the S&P 500 trades for over 10x sales. This is something I’ve been concerned about for a while, but it’s taken a turn recently. Why? Debt at an unprecedented scale is now involved. More on that in a mom
The market continues showing weakness, with the $S&P 500(.SPX)$ declining while the volatility index jumped 3%. The Magnificent Seven remain under pressure. $Microsoft(MSFT)$ , one of the high-probability setups posted in the latest Weekly Compass, reached its bearish target in a clean move since the stock revisited Friday’s closing price at the open before initiating a -3% selloff to 367.9, our bearish target 🎯; the stock stayed below the invalidation level for the bearish setup studied. $Apple(AAPL)$$NVIDIA(NVDA)$$Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$
Market Update: Stabilization Process Continues Ahead of Expected Bullish Transition
$S&P 500(.SPX)$$SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust(SPY)$$NASDAQ 100(NDX)$$Invesco QQQ(QQQ)$$Dow Jones(.DJI)$$iShares Russell 2000 ETF(IWM)$ The U.S. stock market experienced continued volatility on Tuesday, ultimately closing with a relatively strong decline after pulling back toward lower support levels during the session. Although the market closed lower, the current price action continues to reflect a constructive stabilization process within buying and selling flows, and overall movement remains within our previously anticipated range.
Weekly:Fed Holds, Hormuz Reopens: Tech Rallies, Oil Crashes, BoJ Hits 31-Year High The market has begun repricing over the weekend. Expectations for another rate hike this year are rapidly rising. The probability of a rate hike as early as September has increased significantly. More and more funds are realizing that: The most important task for the new Federal Reserve may not be stimulating the economy, but rather rebuilding the credibility of the dollar. If we enter a future characterized by: rate hikes + balance sheet reduction, then the market will find it difficult to maintain its current high valuation. Meanwhile, the Merrill Lynch Bull/Bear Index has reached extreme territory above 9. Historically, whenever marke
⚡ Semiconductor Equipment Stocks Are Flying: The Hidden AI Infrastructure Trade
2026 is almost halfway through, and the AI rally is no longer only about GPUs, HBM, or optical communication. Now, the market is turning to another key part of the supply chain: 👉 semiconductor equipment. Among U.S.-listed semiconductor equipment companies with market caps above $10 billion: ✅ 9 stocks are up more than 75% YTD ✅ 7 stocks have already doubled this year ✅ All 9 hit record highs this week The main logic is simple: AI needs chips. Chips need fabs. Fabs need equipment. 1. 🚀 Which Equipment Stocks Have Doubled? The major winners include: $Applied Materials(AMAT)$$Lam Research(LRCX)$$KLA-Tencor(KLAC)$
$NVDA Climbs on Heavy Volume, Momentum Builds Above $210
$NVIDIA(NVDA)$ $NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) Rallies +2.95%: AI Titan Reclaims $210 Zone on Heavy Volume, Eyes $218.93 Resistance 🚀 Latest Close (06/22/2026): $210.69, up +2.95% ($6.04). Currently ~10.9% below its 52-week high of $236.54. Core Market Drivers: 🏗️ The AI infrastructure race remains the primary catalyst, with continued strong demand for data center GPUs. However, broader market sentiment and tech sector volatility are key watchpoints. No major company-specific news drove today's move, indicating a potential technical rebound. Technical Analysis: 📈 Volume was robust at 241M shares, with a Volume Ratio of 1.79, confirming institutional interest in the rally. RSI(6) has jumped to 53.5, moving out of oversold territory and indicating strengthening
$Caterpillar(CAT)$ $Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) Rallies +3.13%: Construction Giant Powers Up Near $1K Amid AI Demand Narrative 🚜⚡ 📈 Latest Close Data: CAT closed at $985.82 on 2026-06-22, surging +3.13% (+$29.90). The stock is just 0.87% shy of its 52-week high of $994.49. 💡 Core Market Drivers: The AI data center power demand story remains potent, with management confirming strong orders for backup generators in the 1600-3000kW range. Broader construction and industrial sector recovery optimism, as highlighted by recent analyst reports, continues to support sentiment. The stock is rebounding from a recent sell-off driven by profit-taking and concerns over stretched AI-related valuations. 📊 Technical Analysis: Volume was elevated at 6.175M shares (Volume
I think trading has become harder because markets can no longer rely on clear Fed guidance. Warsh’s approach introduces more uncertainty, which means investors will react more aggressively to economic data and policy signals. I’m also not convinced rate hikes are guaranteed. If oil prices continue falling and inflation cools, the market could reverse some of its current hawkish expectations. Energy prices will be one of the key indicators to watch. As for $SpaceX(SPCX)$ , I see this pullback as a healthy correction after a huge post-IPO rally rather than a broken story. I remain bullish on AI and innovation long term, but I would stay selective and manage risk carefully in this more volatile environment. Volatility often creates the best opportun
For long-term investors, I would be cautious about chasing either extreme. The key question is not whether the stock falls 10-20% more, but whether SpaceX can compound revenue and cash flow fast enough to justify its valuation over the next decade. If the thesis rests on Starlink, launch dominance, and Starship eventually opening new markets, a few weeks of post-IPO volatility is largely noise. Historically, many high-profile IPOs experience a cooling-off period after initial enthusiasm. Three down days alone do not necessarily signal a broken story. At the same time, early sell ratings and stretched expectations suggest risk remains elevated. My approach would be: Existing holders: consider trimming only if the position has become oversized. Interested buyers: scale in gradually rather th
I would lean towards "theme-driven bounce until proven otherwise." A 2.5% rebound in QQQ and a near-20% surge in leveraged semiconductor ETFs looks impressive, but the drivers were largely stock-specific and sentiment-driven rather than a broad improvement in macro conditions. If the market's concern yesterday was tighter monetary policy and higher-for-longer rates, that concern has not disappeared overnight. What is encouraging is that buyers remain eager to step into AI and semiconductor weakness. That suggests the AI capex narrative is still intact and institutions are not rushing for the exits. What is less encouraging is the market's tendency to rotate violently from panic to euphoria within 24 hours, which is characteristic of a volatile trading environment rather than a stable uptre
I would be very cautious about chasing after a move of that magnitude. Apple signalling higher memory costs is certainly bullish for memory suppliers because it suggests demand remains strong and pricing power has shifted back toward producers. That supports the long-term AI infrastructure story benefiting companies such as Micron Technology. However, when a stock has already risen thousands of percent, future returns become increasingly dependent on execution matching extremely high expectations. At that stage, even good news can become insufficient if it was already priced in. The distinction I would make is: Bullish on memory industry fundamentals: Yes. AI data centres, inference workloads, and high-bandwidth memory demand remain strong. Bullish on every memory stock at current prices:
$WYNN Rallies 3.1%, Bulls Target $112 Breakout Zone
$Wynn(WYNN)$ $Wynn Resorts, Limited(WYNN) Surged +3.15%: Rebounding From Support, Eyeing $112 Breakout 🎰 Latest Close Data 📈 WYNN closed at $105.53 on June 22, up +3.15% (+$3.22). The stock is trading ~21.6% below its 52-week high of $134.72. Core Market Drivers 🌍 The casino & resort sector is rebounding with broader market sentiment. WYNN's recent price action shows resilience, bouncing from key support levels. The company's strong brand and focus on high-margin markets remain long-term tailwinds. Technical Analysis 📊 Volume was 1.67M (Volume Ratio: 1.08), indicating healthy buying interest. The MACD (DIF: 0.90, DEA: 0.87, MACD: 0.08) shows a bullish crossover is forming, suggesting potential upward momentum. The 6-day RSI at 54.59 has moved
Why Apple’s Memory Warning Could Be Micron’s Super-Cycle Signal
When $Apple(AAPL)$ warns about rising component costs, investors should listen. Apple is one of the most powerful buyers in the global technology supply chain. For years, the company has been able to negotiate aggressively with suppliers, manage costs, protect margins, and shield consumers from component price swings. So when Apple admits that rising memory and storage prices are becoming unavoidable, the message is bigger than Apple. It means the memory market has changed. And the company that may benefit most from this change is $Micron Technology(MU)$. AI memory and storage | Micron Technology Inc. Micron is not just a normal chip stock in this story. It is one of the most direct U.S.-listed ways to inve
Elliott Wave Analysis: Bitcoin’s (BTCUSD) Countertrend Bounce Set to Fail
Since establishing the all‑time high on October 6, 2025 at $126,272, Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has entered a pronounced corrective phase. The Elliott Wave sequence from that peak suggests further downside potential, with the extreme area projected between $41,411 and $52,204. In the short term, the decline from the May 6, 2026 high concluded at $59,081, marking the completion of wave W. From that point, a corrective rally in wave X has unfolded, designed to retrace the cycle from the May 6 high. Internally, this rally has developed as another double three structure of lesser degree. Advancing from wave W, wave (w) terminated at $64,506, followed by a pullback in wave (x) that ended at $60,670. Bitcoin then resumed higher in wave (y), reaching $67,278 and completing wave ((w)) of a higher degree. Th
Every super-cycle has two sides. At the start, rising prices look like a dream for suppliers. Revenue jumps. Margins expand. Analysts raise price targets. Investors rush in. The story becomes simple: demand is strong, supply is tight, and the companies selling the scarce product have pricing power. That is exactly what is happening in memory. $Micron Technology(MU)$ and $SanDisk Corp.(SNDK)$ have surged because the market believes memory prices are entering a powerful upcycle. Apple’s warning about rising memory and storage costs made the thesis even stronger. If even Apple cannot avoid higher memory costs, investors assume memory suppliers must be in a very strong position. But every price increase has a b
⚡ The Power Shock Thesis: “Rubin Broke the Grid Model”
$NVIDIA(NVDA)$ Rubin isn’t just another GPU jump. It quietly breaks a core assumption of the energy system: Compute demand used to scale linearly. Now it scales like a power plant. 1️⃣ NVIDIA Rubin → Extreme Power Density Rubin-class AI clusters push: Higher watts per rack Higher sustained utilization Ultra-dense training + inference workloads This shifts AI infrastructure from IT equipment into: industrial-scale electricity consumption systems 2️⃣ Data Centers → Electricity Demand Explosion With hyperscalers scaling Rubin-era clusters: AI training becomes continuous, not cyclical Inference becomes always-on base load Mega data centers behave like cities Result: Data centers stop being “large customers” T
Markets Celebrate, But Are Investors Getting Ahead of Themselves?
The Rally Is Back On Wall Street finally got what it wanted. A major step toward ending the U.S.-Iran conflict. $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ : +1.9% $S&P 500(.SPX)$ : +1.1% Dow Jones: +0.1% Oil prices fell toward pre-war levels Bond yields eased Technology stocks surged In short, investors hit the "risk-on" button again. But here's the question: Is the market celebrating peace... or simply looking for another reason to buy tech? Once Again, Tech Stole The Show Despite all the geopolitical headlines, the biggest winner wasn't energy, it wasn't industrials, it wasn't transportation, it was technology. U.S. Technology ETF: +2.9% $Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLK)$ and