The article discusses the recent optimism in stock markets driven by President Trump's Iran peace plan and the anticipated IPO of SpaceX. Oil prices fell sharply due to this news, while Treasury yields also saw significant declines. Reports suggest that a deal with Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift sanctions on Iranian oil. Meanwhile, SpaceX's IPO priced at $135 per share is expected to boost the company's valuation significantly, although there are concerns over overall market conditions and tech stock performance. Other highlights include private equity investments in AI data centers, Adobe's mixed earnings report amid software fears, and a notable drop in airfare to Europe, contrasting with rising domestic travel costs.

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Stock Market Bulls Energized by Trump’s Iran Peace Plan Ahead of Huge SpaceX IPO

June 12, 2026, 6:20 am EDT

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(Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Markets have been in a “belief mode” for the past few months that could continue Friday with oil prices and Treasury yields dropping this week amid optimism for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran anda successful IPOof Elon Musk’sSpaceX

SPCX\ \ +19.22%.

President Donald Trump, just hours after threatening to attack Iran’s Khrag Island—a key energy delivery installation—said a deal to end the conflict had been personally approved by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei with a signing ceremony due to be announced shortly.

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Iran has yet to approve the text, and remains unwilling to commit to a full agreement, but reports suggest the deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end sanctions on the sale of Iranian crude.

Oil prices fell sharply following the news, with Brent futures extending their weekly slump to around 8.3% and trading well below the $90 mark in early Friday dealing. Big declines were seen in Treasury yields, as well.

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That creates a solid backdrop for the SpaceX market debut, which priced late Thursday at $135 a share with a group valuation of $1.77 billion.

Early indications suggest the listing could rise as much as 35% by the end of the session, with a $2 trillion market cap firmly in sight.

All that said, stocks are still in negative territory for the month, and facing renewed concerns about interest-rate pressures ahead of the first Federal Reserve meeting under new Chairman Kevin Warsh next week, as well as fading appetite for the tech and chip trade that has powered markets higher since the end of March.

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But an Iran deal, which normalizes energy flows, steadies oil markets, and possibly removes one of the market’s key risks into the summer months, feels strong enough to entice bullish belief once again.

—Martin BaccardaxExternal link

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SpaceX Could Destroy These Other Stocks

It’s a massive day for equity markets, with rocket and artificial intelligence company SpaceX’s trading debut. The largest IPO in history has made CEO Elon Musk a trillionaire, and the stock’s early trading is also likely to create and destroy billions of dollars of value in other parts of the market.

Space-related stocks could move following the IPO, with SpaceX a benchmark for the whole industry. AST SpaceMobile ASTS\ \ -15.53% and Rocket Lab RKLB\ \ -10.79% have racked up triple-digit returns over the past 12 months, but both are trading at a hefty premium to SpaceX—putting them at risk of a slump.
Telecom stocks could also struggle due to fears that Starlink could disrupt the sector. Shares of Verizon Communications, AT&T, and T-Mobile US have all traded lower in recent days.
If the stock rallies straight away, that could trigger a series of short squeezes, which is when investors who are betting against a stock have to buy back shares to cover their losses. AST has short interests in the 20% range. That’s about three to four times the short interest for an average stock in the Russell 1000. Rocket Lab’s short interest is about 6%, close to the average.

What’s Next: Investors better hope the IPO goes well, as a weak trading debut could put the entire AI boom at risk. SpaceX is the first money-losing AI company to go public, with OpenAI and Anthropic expected to follow suit later this year.

— Al Root External link and George Glover External link

Private Capital Is Pouring Into the AI Data Center Buildout

Private equity is piling into the AI data center buildout. KKR

KKR\ \ +0.99% has joined forces with Nvidia, Vistra, and the Kuwait Investment Authority to create a $10 billion artificial-intelligence infrastructure company called Helix Digital Infrastructure, with Nvidia as a cornerstone member.

Vistra, a nuclear and natural gas energy provider, will act as the preferred power provider. KKR said Thursday that Helix was created to deliver integrated infrastructure at the speed and scale required for hyperscalers to meet rising AI demand.
Earlier this week, Broadcom, Apollo Global Management, and Blackstone said they planned to deploy Broadcom chips and other hardware across fleets of AI data centers, starting with an Apollo-led $35 billion investment to facilitate Anthropic’s previously-announced capacity expansion.
“We are positioned to meet the financial and operational demands of the AI era,” KKR Co-CEOs Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall said. Helix aims to invest in and manage AI assets, including hyperscaler data center development, fiber, and connectivity, The Wall Street Journal reportedExternal link.
Globally, private equity and venture investments in utilities are up more than 50% from a year ago, the Journal reported, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence. Investing in the first quarter is close to 2025’s $64.6 billion total.

What’s Next: Former Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky is leading Helix, and Waldemar Szlezak, KKR’s global head of digital infrastructure, will serve as Helix’s chief investment officer. It will take additional institutional investors after founding commitments are closed.

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—Kit NortonExternal link

Adobe Beats Expectations But Can’t Shake Software Fears

Adobe

ADBE\ \ -6.76% beat second-quarter expectations backed by strong demand for its AI products but skepticism about software as a service has crept into investors’ thinking, and the departure of another top executive didn’t help the stock, which fell 5% in after-hours trading and hit a 52-week low.

The enterprise software firm reported adjusted earnings of $5.96 a share on revenue of $6.62 billion. CEO Shantanu Narayen said the record revenue reflected strong AI demand across its customer groups. It also raised its 2026 outlook.
The company now expects earnings to be between $24.35 and $24.45 a share on revenue of $26.5 billion to $26.6 billion. Both ranges beat Wall Street’s current fiscal 2026 estimates.
CFO Dan Durn is leaving the company on June 15 to become CFO of chips-and-networking company Marvell Technology. A software executive leaving to work for a chip company feeds Wall Street’s downbeat narrative around software stocks.
Adobe is trying to alleviate fears around AI disruption by launching its own AI products, including an AI agent platform called CX Enterprise, which is designed to help companies boost sales, improve customer experience, and quicken time-intensive tasks.

What’s Next: Durn’s departure follows Narayen’s recent decision to depart after serving as Adobe’s CEO for more than 18 years. Third Bridge’s Dylan Koehler wrote this week that the key question for Adobe is whether it can realistically position itself as the core orchestration layer for AI-driven enterprise creativity.

—Angela PalumboExternal link

This Summer Vacation Destination Is Getting Cheaper for Americans

Although the ongoing Iran war, soaring jet-fuel prices, higher gasoline prices, and the World Cup tournament are all making summer vacations more expensive, there’s one notable exception—Europe. Domestic U.S. destinations are getting pricier, but travel to and within Europe is looking surprisingly affordable.

Advance purchase trans-Atlantic fares to Europe declined 15% year over year for Friday, June 19, falling for the second consecutive week, Deutsche Bank’s latest pricing analysis of the 500 busiest domestic and international routes found. Fares to Mexico, the only other region where prices dropped, fell 1.9%.
Flights from Dallas, New York, and Atlanta flights to London Heathrow and from Atlanta to Paris all saw double-digit price declines. In contrast, domestic fares for United Airlines more than doubled, American Airlines prices rose 41%, and JetBlue Airways fares climbed 30% year over year.
U.S.-Europe fares in the second quarter are down 17% from last year, based on data showing the lowest published fares, Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth noted at the end of May. That doesn’t include premium demand, the “driving force” on longer-haul international routes.
Although first-quarter U.S. hotel revenue per available room was the highest on record, said CoStar, hotel room rates in popular European destinations are considerably lower this year. Room rates are down 15% a night in Madrid, down 10% in Florence, down 7% in Venice, and down 5% in Rome.

What’s Next: Airfare prices remain “relatively resilient thanks to strong travel demand,” said Frank Holmes, CEO of U.S. Global Investors. Airlines passing along their higher fuel prices without sacrificing traffic “supports revenue growth” and positions well-managed carriers to expand margins and profitability.

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—Callum KeownExternal link and Janet H. Cho

NBA Final Games Are Firing Up These Basketball-Adjacent Stocks

The 2026 National Basketball Association Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks have been the most-watched championship series ever, averaging more than 19.1 million viewers over the first three games, ABC and ESPN said. San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center hosts Game 5 on Saturday.

The New York Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. The only NBA team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Championship is the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, over the Golden State Warriors in 2016.
Frost Bank Center is sponsored by longtime Spurs supporters Cullen/Frost Bankers, based in San Antonio, whose stock has risen 7.8% from the close of trading on June 2, the day before the NBA Finals began, through Thursday’s close, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Although how much the Spurs contributed to Cullen/Frost’s stock gain is unclear, Knicks’ fans’ purchases of tickets, concessions, and merchandise have boosted Madison Square Garden Sports, parent company of the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers, and venue owner Madison Square Garden Entertainment.
MSG Sports has climbed 2.9% since the NBA Finals began and 52% this year. The company was a Barron’s stock pick in September, just before the NBA season tipped off. MSG Entertainment is up 3% since the series began and has surged nearly 38% in 2026.

What’s Next: Knicks fans might not like it, but a Spurs win on Saturday night could be the best outcome for the MSG stocks. The series would move back to New York for a pivotal Game 6 next Tuesday, generating another game’s worth of revenue.

—Nate WolfExternal link and Janet H. ChoExternal link

— Newsletter edited by Liz Moyer, Patrick O’Donnell, Rupert Steiner

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SpaceX, Tesla, EchoStar, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

By George Glover

, Kit Norton

and Connor Smith

Updated June 12, 2026, 4:52 pm EDT / Original June 12, 2026, 7:25 am EDT

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Traders working at the New York Stock Exchange. (Courtesy NYSE)

The market’s focus on Friday was pretty simple: the debut of Elon Musk’s rocket and artificial-intelligence company SpaceX.

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Review & Preview: Strike That

By Megan Leonhardt

June 11, 2026, 7:55 pm EDT

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SNDK

All clear? The market seemed to breathe a sigh of relief on Thursday after President Donald Trump canceled plans to strike Iran, and signaled that peace talks were gaining ground.

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