It feels like we were just writing about the volatile gains of the Kospi, South Korea’s stock market, which has climbed 90% in 2026. But just last night, the Kospi plunged 10% for its biggest one-day drop since March. Memory-chip behemoths Samsung and SK Hynix, which together make up more than half of the index’s market value, led the decline, with both falling more than 12%.

Two concerns seem to have driven the selloff. First, regulators signaled that the year’s rally may have gotten ahead of itself, with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service admitting it had been “too hasty” in approving some of the investment tools that helped fuel the boom, such as leveraged ETFs. Second, Counterpoint Research warned that while the memory-chip market could surpass $1.3 trillion by mid-2027, a surge in supply could eventually lead to price corrections.

From Seoul to Silicon Valley

The selloff spread to New York this morning, where several major tech names dragged the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lower:

• Micron, Western Digital, and Sandisk dropped 13.18%, 8.45%, and 13.64%, respectively, as Samsung and SK Hynix’s decline weighed on sentiment across the memory-chip industry.
• Alphabet inched 0.8% lower after yesterday’s plunge, when its worst day of trading in a year wiped out roughly $225 billion in market value following the departures of two prominent AI researchers (to rivals OpenAI and Anthropic).
• SpaceX briefly traded below its IPO price earlier today, continuing the momentum brought on by yesterday’s selloff amid a $20 billion bond offering. The drop wiped out around $400 billion from the stock’s market cap, and ranks as the second-largest one-day loss ever recorded by a US company. Shares rebounded and managed to eke out a 0.98% gain today.

Problems ahead

Investors may not be getting much relief anytime soon. Bank of America now expects as many as three rate hikes this year after previously forecasting no changes, while Deutsche Bank sees two additional quarter-point increases in September and December, thanks to strong job data and stubborn inflation.

Higher borrowing costs threaten to add yet another layer of uncertainty for many of the stocks caught up in today’s selloff, particularly for companies tapping debt markets, like SpaceX. And with concerns emerging about future chip supply, the market is showing less patience for stocks that are priced to perfection.—SY

🟢 What’s up

• IBM gained 5.04% as a JPMorgan upgrade and a new White House push to accelerate quantum computing boosted sentiment.
• AI-powered marketing company Zeta Global jumped 5.63% on a partnership with Palantir Technologies that could generate up to $100 million in annual revenue.
• Accenture rose 1.75% after expanding its share repurchase program by $2 billion.
• Edgewell Personal Care surged 15.4% after the skincare company rejected a takeover bid that its board deemed too low.
• Varonis Systems climbed 7.09% amid reports that the cybersecurity company is exploring a sale following takeover interest.
• Avis Budget Group advanced 2.24% after reaching a settlement with Pentwater Capital in a long-running trading profits lawsuit.

What’s down

• Qualcomm fell 8.01%, pressured by the broader tech selloff, despite reports that it is in talks to acquire AI developer platform Modular for $4 billion; a deal that could strengthen Qualcomm’s AI portfolio.
• Carnival lost 4.87% as weaker-than-expected third-quarter guidance due to upheaval in the Middle East overshadowed its latest results.
• AMC Entertainment plunged 24.23% on plans to raise $200 million through the sale of 95.3 million shares.
• Primoris Services tumbled 21.53% after cutting guidance, citing renewable energy project delays and cost overruns, while also announcing the departure of its COO.
• Best Buy slipped 1.16% following the announcement that CFO Matt Bilunas will step down at the end of July.

Another day, another executive order. The latest missives from the White House yesterday afternoon lend presidential support to the nascent quantum computing industry: One EO directed federal agencies, private companies, and universities to work together to create a quantum computer capable of conducting scientific research by 2028. The second order instructed federal agencies like NASA to prepare for the cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing power.

This isn’t the first time President Trump has turned his attention to quantum: Late last month he ordered the Commerce Department to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for nine quantum computing companies. While that previous push gave quantum stocks across the board a big boost, the only company that enjoyed a strong rally today was Infleqtion, which popped 12.32% thanks to its position in the quantum sensor market.

But that wasn’t all: Earlier today the Energy Department announced it will deploy $17.5 billion in loans to speed up the construction of 10 nuclear reactors across the country. The money is earmarked for builders to buy Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactors, a boon for co-parent company Cameco Corp., which climbed 1.7% today.

The White House has lately made a habit of boosting companies connected to national interests, including investments in domestic rare earth miners and chipmakers like Intel. But its latest focus seems to be on quantum and nuclear, and investors trying to tail the government’s big bets should pivot appropriately.—MR

Countless memes calling smart glasses dorky, ugly, and creepy aren’t fazing the tech titans.

Today, Meta announced that it’s rolling out a cheaper model of wearable smart glasses under its own brand at a starting price of only $299 (and your dignity). Meta also announced a collaboration with Kylie Jenner, dubbed the “Starfire” model, priced at $399.

Apparently the Kardashian name-drop wasn’t enough to get investors very excited, given that shares fell 0.29% today.

But Meta is fine with a lukewarm reception after the meltdown shareholders had in reaction to Snap’s augmented-reality glasses launch last week. After Snap released the new Specs model for $2,195 last Tuesday, shares plummeted 10% that day—and another 8% on Wednesday.

Unlike Meta’s AI glasses, which can take photos and videos, play music, and give audio navigation, Snap is going for a full AR experience, featuring a display that feels like a 24-inch monitor, according to Snap. The glasses can project digital objects into the real world and do things like overlay directions on a street. That all sounds cool, until you see what they look like.

Critics didn’t mince words when slamming the design, which looks more like part of a Minions costume than something you’d wear casually: “This is the kind of product reveal that explains how a social media company can be down over 90% during one of the best tech bull markets in history,” Futurum Equities Chief Market Strategist Shay Boloor wrote on X.

Making smart glasses less dumb

Meta’s approach is different from Snap’s in a few key ways, and it bodes well for the launch. For one, Meta is focusing on driving down costs for consumers. And Meta’s smaller, sleeker design may make for less public ridicule. Both are usually key in creating something people will actually buy.

The AR war could already be over: Meta dominates the smart-glasses competition, commanding 80% of the market share along with its collaborator, Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica. But a slew of competitors are about to hit the market, including Google’s Warby Parker collaboration launching this fall, and Apple’s rumored smart glasses launching as soon as 2027.

Then there’s always the question of how popular these products will actually be once the early adopters are rocking their chosen AI shades. Only time will tell if there’s a market for glasses featuring a secret camera—for anyone besides spies and creeps.—LB

• Meta is building a prediction market app.
• Goldman Sachs equity traders are about to generate over $5 billion in revenue in Q2, beating the average estimate of $4.77 billion.
• Here’s how telehealth companies, med spas, and venture capitalists are trying to cash in on the peptide craze.
• Nonstop trading sounds like a dream come true for some addicted investors, but bringing perpetual futures to market is turning into a nightmare.
• Oracle cut about 21,000 jobs last year as it shifted toward AI.
• It’s not just tech layoffs: Job cuts at US factories hit their highest level since the pandemic.

Earnings announcements: Tune in to the latest numbers from Micron, Jefferies, Trip.com, and Paychex.

Economic reports: While the monthly new homes sales report from May makes for some light reading, investors will be more interested in the results from the Fed’s annual bank stress test. Every year the Fed tests 32 major US banks on how their finances would fare in a major economic downturn—and given ongoing concerns like low consumer sentiment, the rising likelihood of interest-rate hikes, and the effects of the war in Iran on inflation, it might be worth figuring out which banks are the safest.

Everything else: Scotland plays Brazil tomorrow in Miami in the group stage of the World Cup. It might not be super important for investors, but you’ve got to admit that Scottish soccer fans sure are entertaining.