US Markets Close June 15, 2026: Nasdaq Surges 3.07% as US-Iran Peace Deal Reopens the Strait of Hormuz

S&P 500 close: 7,554.29 (+1.65%) Sentiment: bullish

The S&P 500 closed at 7,554.29 on June 15, 2026, up 1.65%, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 3.07% to 26,683.94 after a weekend US-Iran peace agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz and sent WTI crude down 4.38% to US$81.16. Western Digital (WDC.US) led the gainers with a 16.10% jump as memory-chip stocks rode the risk-on rotation. The CBOE Volatility Index fell 8.37% to 16.20, its calmest reading in weeks, as the de-escalation pulled cash back into growth.

What drove the move

• Information Technology: the sector led, with XLK +3.78% on roughly a third of the index weight, worth about 120 bps of the 165 bps S&P move. Semiconductors led inside it, as the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) gained 5.40%.
• Memory and AI compute: WDC.US +16.10%, MU.US +10.84% (a record close near $1,088 after TD Cowen raised its target to $1,500), STX.US +9.43% and MRVL.US +10.43%. The peace deal revived risk appetite on top of an already tight DRAM and NAND supply backdrop.
• Communication services and consumer discretionary: META.US +4.67%, GOOGL.US +2.69%, AMZN.US +3.13% and DASH.US +11.63% added roughly another 60 bps combined.
• Energy (the offset): XLE -3.48% subtracted about 12 bps as WTI crude fell 4.38% to US$81.16. XOM.US -4.14%, CVX.US -3.64% and COP.US -4.03% tracked the barrel lower.

Together, technology, communication services and consumer discretionary supplied close to 180 bps of upside against the 12 bps energy drag, netting near the 165 bps index gain. The residual is the only other soft sector, healthcare (XLV -0.60%).

Session highlights

The S&P 500 finished at 7,554.29 on June 15, 2026, up 1.65%, its move led by mega-cap technology as falling yields and a softer dollar favored long-duration growth.

• The Nasdaq's 3.07% gain more than tripled the Dow's 0.92%, a growth-over-value session as the US 10-year yield eased 1.8 bps to 4.469% and the dollar index slipped 0.10% to 99.64.
• META.US +4.67% was the largest mega-cap move; NVDA.US +3.54%, AMZN.US +3.13%, AVGO.US +3.11% and MSFT.US +2.31% all closed higher.
• The Russell 2000 added 0.72% to 2,965.09, touching a fresh intraday high as small caps joined the advance.
• Gold rose 2.18% to US$4,331 as a softer dollar and lower real yields lifted bullion despite the risk-on mood.

Sector scorecard

• Best: Semiconductors (SOXX +5.40%) and Information Technology (XLK +3.78%)
• Worst: Energy (XLE -3.48%)
• Dispersion (best minus worst): 8.9 pts
• Healthcare (XLV -0.60%) was the only other sector in the red; financials lagged at XLF +0.41%.

Top movers

Notable announcements

• Fox Corp (FOXA.US) agreed to buy Roku (ROKU.US) for about $22 billion in enterprise value, roughly $160 per share or a 28% premium, funded with $8.3 billion of new debt and 152 million new Class A shares. FOXA.US fell 16.84% on dilution concerns; ROKU.US eased 1.92%.

After-hours earnings

• PLAY.US reported first-quarter results after the bell: revenue of $559 million missed the roughly $577 million consensus, and adjusted EPS of $0.22 fell short of about $0.66, though same-store sales rose 5.4%. Shares traded lower after the print.
• QMCO.US, a data-storage name tied to the memory theme that led the session, was also scheduled to report after the close.

At the US close (4:00 PM ET)

Next session catalysts (ET)

• Tue Jun 16 - FOMC two-day meeting begins
• Wed Jun 17, 2:00 PM - Federal Reserve rate decision plus the Summary of Economic Projections (dot plot) and the Chair's press conference, the week's marquee event
• Thu Jun 18 - weekly initial jobless claims
• Fri Jun 19 - US markets closed for Juneteenth; the US-Iran peace deal signing is referenced for this date
• Wed Jun 24 - MU.US reports quarterly earnings

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