Breakfast News: Fed Shock Fades as Markets Recover

Breakfast News: Fed Shock Fades as Markets Recover

June 18, 2026

| Wednesday's Markets | | --- | | S&P 500 7,420 (-1.21%) | | Nasdaq 26,022 (-1.34%) | | Dow 51,493 (-0.98%) | | Bitcoin $64,313 (-2.15%) |

With markets closed Friday for Juneteenth National Independence Day, Breakfast News will be back in your inbox on Monday, June 22.

Source: Image created by Jester AI.

1. Peace Deal Erases Warsh's Hawkish Debut

S&P 500 futures rose around 1%, with the Nasdaq 100 up about 1.5% in pre-market trading, as investors cheered confirmation of a signed U.S.-Iran peace deal. This helped to reverse the markets' fall yesterday as investors digested implications from an increasingly hawkish Federal Reserve committee.

• **FOMC split 9-9 between those expecting one hike versus those looking to hold rates steady or cut: **Despite no dissent in keeping the rate on hold currently, the future policy path is murkier, with new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh abstaining from submitting a "dot" for his personal projected interest rate and pushing hard on the need for inflation price stability.
• Market mood only temporarily spoiled: Investor concern following the meeting saw a knee-jerk move lower in stocks, with the S&P 500 closing the day heavily in the red. However, the positive news out overnight on a peace deal is helping to erase most of the losses.

2. Trump Says Apple and Intel Ink U.S. Chip Deal

President Trump confirmed a new partnership between Apple (AAPL +1.00%) and Intel (INTC 0.14%), saying in a social media post Apple has agreed to work with Intel to design and manufacture chips in the U.S.

• **The reported deal would be a win for all sides: **Although the post was light on details, such a move would give Intel – up close to 10% on the news – a boost given the scale of Apple's consumption, and help Apple to diversify its sourcing. It helps the administration in the push to onshore more critical sector manufacturing.
• **"The relationship with the U.S. government is a real strength": **Speaking about Intel, Fool contributing analyst Matt Frankel explained "the foundry business is unique, especially since it's the only real big one on U.S. soil."

3. Fresh AI Talent War Hits Alphabet and Meta

Alphabet's (GOOG 1.25%) co-head of Gemini AI models is leaving to join OpenAI, with Meta's (META 1.91%) head of internal enterprise AI also departing, as the hunt for talent in the sector continues to heat up.

• **The Alphabet departure comes just weeks after unveiling a host of new AI products: **Noam Shazeer had previously left Google in 2021 to set up a successful AI start-up, before returning to the company in 2024. His new role at OpenAI has yet to be confirmed.
• Emily Dalton Smith departs after over a decade at Meta: Dalton Smith had shifted two months ago to help improve internal AI tooling, although some initiatives in this area such as mouse-tracking software were poorly received by staffers.

4. KR and ACN Deliver Pre-Market Results

• **Kroger **(KR +1.33%) moved around 1% lower before the opening bell following a mixed bag of results, with identical sales up 1% versus last year but CEO Greg Foran noting "we know there is more work to do." The Dividend Investor rec has raised its base dividend payout consecutively every year for nearly two decades.
• **Accenture **(ACN 3.43%) fell over 10% ahead of the market open after quarterly revenue missed expectations. Recommended by both Team Hidden Gems and Team Rule Breakers, management also announced a deal totaling $4.175 billion to buy a majority stake in Dragos, alongside full acquisitions of runZero and NetRise. This three-pronged deal focuses heavily on protecting critical industrial infrastructure like power grids, manufacturing facilities, and data centers. The massive purchase comes as Accenture builds upon its existing $10 billion cybersecurity segment to better capture a rapidly expanding global market.

5. Today's Take: Interest Rate Realities

Warren Buffett called interest rates gravity on asset prices -- the higher they climb, the harder they pull valuations down.-- Yasser El-Shimy Team Rule Breakers

If I can buy the same stock with a 6% yield because the interest rate environment has pressured the share price, my yield on cost in 20 years should be roughly 16%.-- Matt Frankel Team Hidden Gems

6. Your Take

**Nvidia **(NVDA +3.74%), Alphabet, and Apple all have market caps in excess of $4 trillion...

If your portfolio comprised just these three companies, and you bought each of them at the start of the year with the same amount of money, and had to buy more shares in one, completely close your position in another, and hold the final stock, what are you choosing to do and why?

Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!