Microsoft experiences worst month since 2000; Micron delivers record earnings beat, signal market rotation toward foundational chips.

A week of stark contrasts on Wall Street: crude collapsed as the Strait of Hormuz reopened, yet the Fed's preferred inflation gauge hit a three-year high, the Magnificent Seven kept bleeding, and Micron delivered what analysts called "a memorable beat."

WTI crude crashed nearly 4% on Friday to $69 a barrel, the lowest since February 27—the day before the Iran war began. Oil was down more than 20% for the month, on pace for its worst monthly performance since March 2020. Saudi Arabia resumed loading tankers at Ras Tanura, and Persian Gulf exports recovered to roughly 75% of prewar levels.

Yet inflation was still catching up to the Iran shock. Core PCE rose to 3.4% year-over-year in May, the highest since October 2023. Headline PCE jumped to 4.1%, the hottest since April 2023. At his first FOMC meeting on June 17, new Chair Kevin Warsh held rates steady at 3.50%–3.75% but signaled openness to a hike. Markets now price an October hike as the base case.

Microsoft was down roughly 20% for the month—its worst June since 2000, as investors kept dumping the stock over AI capex fears. Fellow hyperscaler Oracle fared even worse, plunging 30% in June and erasing more than $300 billion in market value after warning of $70 billion in fiscal 2027 capex.

Apple added a new twist to the narrative, raising prices across its product line to offset surging memory costs—a direct pass-through of the AI-driven memory boom into consumer wallets.

The Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF was heading for its worst month since inception, with over $1 billion in outflows. The flip side: a windfall for AI infrastructure suppliers.

Micron Technology posted fiscal third quarter revenue of $41.5 billion, up 346% year-over-year. Gross margin hit 84.6%, and earnings per share came in at $24.67 versus $1.68 a year ago. Shares jumped 15% on Thursday as the stock saw multiple price-target hikes.

After three monthly declines drove the index to its lowest reading ever, the University of Michigan's final June Consumer Sentiment rose 9% to 48.9, yet sentiment was still 19% below a year ago. Long-run inflation expectations fell back from 3.9% to 3.4%.