Evening Market Recap

Sophia Reyes · June 17, 2025 7:13 PM

Market Snapshot for Tuesday 6/17/2025

• S&P 500 – 5,982.72 (-0.84%)
• Dow Jones – 42,215.80 (-0.70%)
• NASDAQ – 19,521.09 (-0.91%)

Market Performance

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday as optimism for a swift resolution to the escalating Israel-Iran conflict faded, weighed down further by President Trump’s intensifying rhetoric. In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared that the U.S. knows the location of Iran’s top leader, stating, “He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.” He also called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.” New reports on Tuesday indicated that the US is contemplating military strikes against Iran.

Markets turned lower shortly after the post. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed down roughly 0.7%, losing around 300 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped more than 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slid over 0.9%, as geopolitical tensions rattled investor sentiment.

Economic Takeaways –

• The Energy sector was the lone S&P 500 sector in the green on Tuesday, rising about 1% as oil prices once again picked up.
• “A sustained rise in oil prices could cause the Fed to strike a more dovish tone,” Oxford Economics chief US economist Ryan Sweet wrote in a recent note to clients.
• This week Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the US-UK trade pact agreed in May.
• S. retail sales dropped 0.9% in May, a sharper decline than economists anticipated, as consumers eased up following a pre-tariff spending surge.
• Wall Street now turns its attention to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting beginning Tuesday, looking for signals on whether officials still plan to implement two rate cuts this year amid signs that inflation is easing. The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged in Wednesday’s announcement.

Gold –

• A new survey by the World Gold Council found that “95% of central bank respondents expect global gold reserves to rise over the next 12 months.” Notably, a record “43% said they plan to increase their own holdings during that time.”
• A standout record-setting rally in gold is about to peter out, Citigroup strategists said as they forecast a slide back below $3,000 an ounce for the precious metal in coming quarters.

Oil –

• Oil prices jumped over 4% as investors weighed the stream of remarks and reports.
• Brent futures settled above $76.50 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude hit nearly $75.

Bitcoin –

• Bitcoin (/BTC) fell 2.8% Tuesday morning, extending recent volatility amid geopolitical uncertainty.
• Shares of crypto-exposed firms Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) also slid about 2%.

OpenAI to Give Palantir a Run for its Money

OpenAI’s new $200 million defense deal ‘could signal increased competition’ for Palantir

The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday awarded OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) a $200 million contract to “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains.”

“This contract is one of the largest Department of Defense contracts given to a software provider when measured by annual contract value,” William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma wrote in a note to clients Monday.

DiPalma noted the “contract announcement could signal increased competition from OpenAI going forward” for Palantir (PLTR) “if OpenAI moves into Palantir’s ontology territory.” Ontology refers to an operational layer within Palantir’s platform. He also acknowledged Palantir’s role in laying the groundwork for firms like OpenAI.

“Palantir has pioneered software providers serving as prime contractors for Department of Defense programs,” DiPalma wrote. “Traditionally, software providers served as subcontractors to systems integrators. Under the new administration, the Department of Defense is looking to contract directly with commercial software providers when possible.”

Palantir shares edged up less than 1% on Tuesday.

Back in December, Palantir stock dropped as much as 5% when defense technology firm Anduril (ANIN.PVT) announced a partnership with OpenAI to “develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions.”

Senate Passes Landmark Stablecoin Bill

The Senate on Tuesday passed a groundbreaking bill that would establish the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, marking a major milestone for the cryptocurrency industry as it seeks legitimacy and oversight in Washington.

The bill, known as the GENIUS Act—short for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins”—passed with a bipartisan vote of 68-30. Although it must still clear the House and receive President Trump’s signature to become law, industry leaders are already celebrating the bill’s rapid momentum as a win for crypto.

“I feel really good about [this bill],” said Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer and head of global policy and operations at Circle (CRCL), the largest U.S. stablecoin issuer.

Circle’s stock has skyrocketed roughly 400% since its public debut on June 5, underscoring investors’ bullish outlook on stablecoins amid mounting regulatory clarity.

Coinbase (COIN) chief legal officer Paul Grewal reacted on X, writing, “a year ago I would’ve thought this at best was a fever dream. Think for a moment on how far we’ve come.”

The GENIUS Act outlines how U.S. companies can issue and manage dollar-backed stablecoins used for payments. The bill includes a provision barring members of Congress and their families from profiting from stablecoins—but notably excludes President Trump and his family, a carve-out that has frustrated some Democrats and slowed earlier progress.

Top Gainers

Several stocks experienced significant gains. Some of the top gainers included:

• CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. (CERO) moved higher 188.73%
• PureCycle Technologies (PCT) soared by 18.96%
• John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY) exploded 9.96%
• Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK) surged 9.07%
• Jabil, Inc. (JBL) rose 8.89%
• Oscar Health, Inc. (OSCR) moved up 7.76%
• Scorpio Tankers Inc. (STNG) 6.73%
• PBF-Energy, Inc. (PBF) spiked 6.60%
• Reddit, Inc. (RDDT) moved up 6.05%
• Remitly Global, Inc. (RELY) surged 5.68%

Top Losers

The top US stock losers today, based on percentage change included:

• Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) moved lower 23.97%
• First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) moved lower 17.89%
• Burford Capital Limited (BUR) sank 13.69%
• Surgery Partners, Inc. (SGRY) fell 12.26%
• Peloton Interactive, Inc. (PTON) down 11.76%
• Lemonade, Inc. (LMND) moved lower 9.77%
• MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT) sank 9.31%
• Zai Lab Limited (ZLAB) dragged 8.39%
• The AES Corp. (AES) moved down 8.12%
• NuScale Power Corp. (SMR) slumped 7.65%

Notables

• Recent IPOs, like stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) and AI cloud company CoreWeave (CRWV), have both seen their stocks rise more than 100% since going public.
• Shares of nuclear energy company turned AI play Oklo (OKLO) are up more than 70% in the past month.
• Quantum Computing (QUBT) shares are up more than 56% in the past month.
• JetBlue’s (JBLU) stock declined more than 3% on Tuesday after the company revealed plans to further reduce costs and scale back flights. “We’re hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won’t fully offset the ground we’ve lost this year, and our path back to profitability will take longer than we’d hoped,” CEO Joanna Geraghty said.
• Solar stocks tumbled in early afternoon trading after the Senate released its version of President Trump’s tax and spending bill, revealing a unified Republican push to eliminate tax credits for clean energy.
• Residential solar provider Sunrun (RUN) led the decline, plunging 43%.
• Battery maker SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) slid 39%, while Enphase Energy (ENPH), known for its solar inverters, dropped 27%.
• First Solar (FSLR), a supplier of photovoltaic modules, fell nearly 20%.
• TikTok is once again getting a last-minute reprieve. President Trump on Tuesday said he’ll likely extend the deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell off the short-form video app before it’s set to go dark on Thursday, according to Reuters.
• Kraft Heinz (KHC) shares inched up after the company announced it will remove synthetic dyes from the final 10% of its U.S. product lineup that still includes them, covering brands like Kool-Aid and Jell-O.
• The US Department of Defense announced Monday that it awarded OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) a $200 million contract to “develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains.”
• Microsoft and AMD inked a multi-year Xbox chip deal.
• Reddit (RDDT) rose for a second day in a row after launching new AI ad tools.
• T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) shares slipped 4% in premarket trading Tuesday after SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBF, SFTBY) raised $4.8 billion through the sale of its T-Mobile stake. The cash infusion is expected to support SoftBank’s ongoing push into artificial intelligence investments.
• Shares of Verve Therapeutics (VERV) surged 75% in pre-market trading after Eli Lilly (LLY) announced a potential acquisition valued at up to $1.3 billion. Despite the headline, Lilly shares slipped 0.8% early Tuesday.
• Lennar (LEN) gained 1.8% pre-market, despite missing consensus EPS estimates in its latest report. The homebuilder topped revenue expectations and cited “softer market conditions,” with high mortgage rates and shaky consumer sentiment weighing on average sales prices.
• CERo Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., (CERO) gained triple digit gains after announcing that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted CERo’s Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for the company’s lead drug candidate CER-1236.

What to Watch Ahead

June 18: Fed rate decision, May housing starts, and May building permits.
June 19: U.S. markets closed for Juneteenth holiday observance.
June 20: May leading indicators and expected earnings from Accenture (ACN), CarMax (KMX), Darden Restaurants (DRI), and Kroger (KR).
June 23: May existing home sales and expected earnings from KB Home (KBH).
June 24: June Consumer Confidence and expected earnings from FedEx (FDX).