Market Minute ⏱️ 6/17/26: Markets Mellow on "Meeting Day"

Mike Larson | Editor-in-Chief

After a day where Dow stocks outshined tech, stocks are mellow in early trading. Crude oil is up a smidge, while bonds, precious metals, and the US dollar are mostly flat.

Today is meeting day – in France where the other G7 leaders and President Trump are gathered and in Washington where the Federal Reserve is gathering to hash out its monetary policy plans. The big focus in Europe, naturally, is the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. A signing ceremony is scheduled for Friday in Geneva.

Iran will reportedly receive financial concessions in exchange for opening the Strait of Hormuz and agreeing to nuclear weapons-focused restrictions – while the US will end its naval blockade. Crude oil prices have been sliding for days, dropping 40% from their wartime peak, in anticipation of energy shipments picking up. The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has rebounded, too, with year-to-date gains now up to 10.3%.

USO, SPY (YTD % Change)

Meanwhile, the Fed is poised to hold rates steady in the current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. But new Chair Kevin Warsh may lay the groundwork for future hikes given elevated inflation pressures. The economy has held up well rather than cooled, market sentiment is bordering on exuberant, and central banks in Europe and Japan are already hiking rates in response.

Finally it’s time for ANOTHER acronym on Wall Street. Exit Mag 7, enter “MANGOS!” A pair of ETF sponsors are rolling out funds that track the four publicly traded MANGOS stocks and two private ones: Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), Nvidia Corp. (NVDA), SpaceX (SPCX), Anthropic, and OpenAI.

Technically, the fund sponsored by Corgi Securities will also include other semiconductor and tech stocks. But either way, it’s another example of the popularity of thematic investing and opportunistic industry behavior in a bull market that keeps on running.

Meeks: No, the AI Boom Has NOT Reached the Dangerous Stage Yet!

Join Our MoneyShow + Wolf Financial Markets Livestream — Tuesday, June 23 at 11:30 am Eastern!

Wondering what’s next for the markets? Then don’t miss our upcoming MoneyShow + Wolf Financial livestream on Tuesday, June 23 from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm Eastern! I’ll be co-hosting an interactive markets discussion with Gav Blaxberg of Wolf, plus MoneyShow expert contributors Jeffrey Hirsch, Kevin Mahn, Nancy Tengler, Eva Ados, and Danielle Shay.

From stocks to seasonality, the SpaceX IPO to options trading setups, we’ll cover it all! Simply navigate to the MoneyShow X feed or MoneyShow YouTube channel on Tuesday morning — and get ready for a lively, interactive, and actionable session!

• SPCX and ETFs: Which Index Funds Will Buy Shares (and When)
  👉️ TICKERS: IVV, IWB, QQQ, XLC, SPCX
  The largest indexed ETFs are going to vary in their SpaceX (SPCX) exposure, following the stock’s IPO completed on June 12. Nasdaq and FTSE Russell decided to fast-track the inclusion of mega-cap IPOs in their indices, while S&P DJI opted not to change its methodology, explains Aniket Ullal, VP, ETF Data & Analytics at CFRA Research.

• SPX: Could the Stock Market be Due for a Major Drop?
  👉️ TICKER: SPX
  I don’t base my investment recommendations on charts. Nor do I consider myself an expert on technical analysis. But as the expression reminds us, some pictures are worth 1,000 words. And three charts form my basis for believing the stock market is heading for a major drop, advises Nilus Mattive, editor of Safe Money Report.

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🧽📈 Clorox Has Fallen 22% and Now Yields 5%. This Dividend King Looks Too Cheap to Ignore. (Barchart)