Market Brief — June 29, 2026

Risk assets, including US equities, gained as oil rebounded after US–Iran tensions eased, with the S&P 500 (SPX) up 1.2%, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) up 2.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) up 0.6%. European benchmarks eased as the CAC 40 (FRA40) fell 0.2%, the FTSE 100 (UKX) slipped 0.2% and the DAX (DAX) declined 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was flat.

Sector leadership in the US came from consumer discretionary (XLY +2.4%), technology (VGT +2.3%), communication services (XLC +1.6%), industrials (XLI +0.9%), financials (XLF +0.3%) and healthcare (XLV +0.2%), while basic materials (XLB -1.8%), real estate (VNQ -0.5%), energy (XLE -0.5%), utilities (XLU -0.4%) and consumer staples (XLP -0.4%) lagged. Among single-name movers, Ouster (OUST +28.7%), Iridium Communications (IRDM +25.4%), SELLAS Life Sciences (SLS +24.7%), FuelCell Energy (FCEL +24.2%) and Viasat (VSAT +23.8%) led gainers. On the downside, DSC Holdings (DSC -20.4%), TopBuild (BLD -15.5%), StoneX Group (SNEX -14.5%), Hawkins (HWKN -12.5%) and BGC Group (BGC -8.7%) were the weakest performers.

The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds rate at 3.50%–3.75% in June, with the dot plot signaling higher year-end 2026 projections and the statement stressing still-elevated inflation tied to sector-specific supply shocks, while markets positioned for June US nonfarm payrolls with consensus at 115k–130k and unemployment near 4.3% alongside firmer manufacturing PMIs. Oil and risk assets recovered as US–Iran tensions eased, with crude around $70–74 per barrel, gold (XAU/USD) down about 1.5% on softer safe-haven demand, and the US Dollar Index (DXY) near 101 while USD/JPY traded around 161.8 amid intervention concerns. In Europe, Spain’s June business confidence improved to -2.4 from -3.7 versus a forecast of -2.1, 30-year UK gilt yields fell about 2 bps and GBP rose to $1.3240 after Andy Burnham reaffirmed Labour’s fiscal rules, while Ethiopia agreed in principle to replace its $1 billion bond with a new $880 million issue paying 6.15% and holders of Kenya and DR Congo eurobonds earned roughly 2% and 1.95% in June.

Oil markets stayed firm as renewed US–Iran strikes and shipping disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz slowed tanker traffic, lifting Brent to intraday levels around $72.9 and WTI near $69.9 per barrel. Strategy (MSTR) authorized up to $2.0 billion in repurchases, launched a Bitcoin Monetization Program that may sell up to $1.25 billion of bitcoin, and raised the dividend on Variable Rate Series A Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC) to 12% while reporting $2.55 billion in reserves and holdings of 847,363 BTC. SpaceX completed a $25 billion five-tranche bond sale that drew nearly $90 billion of orders but secondary selling widened 10-year yields to about 6% with spreads over Treasuries above 1.6 percentage points, while Comcast said it would spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate public company and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a constitutional challenge to the SEC’s gag rule. H.I.G. Capital completed its acquisition of Premier Forge Group, SailPoint closed its purchase of Entro Security, and BELLA+CANVAS finalized its acquisition by SanMar, while Las Vegas Diamond Arena completed land acquisitions including a private jet terminal site tied to its planned NBA expansion venue. In announced energy and industrial deals, SandRidge Energy agreed to acquire assets in the Cherokee play and VMC Group said it would buy Fabreeka Holdings, alongside AMR Clinical’s planned purchase of ClinOhio Research Services and GreenArrow’s agreement to acquire Atlantic Transportation Systems. Rocket Lab announced a deal to acquire Iridium and AMASS Brands Group agreed to take a majority stake in HpO Sparkling Protein Water, expanding its presence in functional hydration.