WSJ Your Money Briefing - What’s News in Markets: SpaceX’s Rocky Flight, Oil Slides, Fed Fallout

Episode Date: June 20, 2026

Will peace in the Middle East lead to an oil glut? And what did investors learn from Kevin Warsh’s first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman? Plus, is SpaceX stock coming back to earth? Host Imani Moise discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Hey listeners, your money briefing is still on a break, but we'll be back with more personal finance information for you in the future. Until then, here's the news moving the markets this week. Hey listeners, it's Saturday, June 20th. I'm Imani Moise for the Wall Street Journal. And this is what's news in markets. Our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.

Let's dive in. It was a short week for markets due to the Juneteenth holiday, but there was a short week. no shortage of market-moving headlines. Investors cheered the strongest sign yet that the U.S. and Iran are moving closer to a lasting peace deal. They also got a reality check from the new chair of the Federal Reserve, who made it clear that he wants a less predictable and less talkative central bank. And in the background, the AI-fueled rally that has powered markets for much of this year showed no sign of slowing. Overall, markets ended higher. The tech-heavy NASDAQ led the way, gaining nearly 2.5% for the week.

The S&P 500 added 0.9%, while the Dow rose 0.7%. The peace deal between the U.S. and Iran means that the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global highway for oil, will be coming back online. But that's not necessarily good news for oil stocks. The International Energy Agency warned that oil production could eventually outpace demand growth if the peace deal holds, raising the possibility of an oil glut next year. That would mean lower prices. and potentially lower profit for oil companies. Energy was the worst performing sector in the SMP 500 this week,

sliding almost 7% as investors' unwound bets tied to conflict in the Middle East and began pricing in a potential surge in supply. Brunch crude futures finished the week about 9% lower at around $79 a barrel, just a few dollars above their pre-war level. But oil companies are still in a better place than they were before the war began. Even after this week's decline, the S&P Energy Index is still up about 21% for the year. President Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve hosted his first meeting on Wednesday, and investors didn't like what they heard. The central bank left interest rates unchanged, as expected. But policymakers signaled that their next move could be a rate hike instead of a cut.

Market started out the year expecting lower borrowing costs. Instead, nine out of 19 Fed officials now expect at least one. rate increase before year end because inflation remains stubbornly high and the economy continues to run hotter than expected. For context, zero officials expected a hike back in March, and just one is now predicting a cut, down from 12. In his comments on Wednesday, the new Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, repeatedly emphasized the Fed's commitment to bringing inflation back down to its 2% target, even as President Trump has pushed for lower rates. The yield on the two-year Treasury Re-note climbed roughly 10 basis points this week, hitting its highest level in more than a year,

as traders adjusted to the possibility that interest rates could stay higher for longer. And after its meteoric rise following its historic IPO, it's looking like SpaceX may be coming back to Earth. It's common for stocks to surge on their first day of trading and then lose steam. And after soaring earlier this week, shares of Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company pulled back on Wednesday and Thursday. Despite that, SpaceX remains roughly 37% above its $135 offering price and is still one of the strongest IPO debuts in recent memory. The rally briefly pushed SpaceX past Amazon to become the world's fifth largest public company by market value. Analysts say investors should brace for a continued volatility as the stock settles into a more normal trading pattern, and buyers and sellers search for a fair value.

And traders are making increasingly aggressive bets on where the stock will go next. Tuesday marked the first day they could trade options tied to SpaceX, and roughly 1.8 million contracts changed hands, shattering the first day record previously set by meta in 2012. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You could read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in our live markets coverage on WSJ.com. Today's show was produced by Danny Lewis with Deputy Editor Chris Zinsley. I'm Imani-Mau-Ease. Have a great weekend and catch you next Saturday. Are you one of those media strategy people clicking through slides, scrolling spreadsheets?

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