Volatility was back on Wall Street this week, with the VIX surging above 20 for the first time since late April. Yet stocks clawed back losses by Friday, putting the S&P 500 – as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) – in positive territory for the week as a U.S.–Iran deal moved within reach.

Inflation Heats Up Ahead of Fed Meeting

Inflation piled on the pressure. In May, the Consumer Price Index recorded a 4.2% year-over-year increase, the hottest inflation since April 2023, with energy up 23.5% on the year. Producer inflation also shocked at 6.5%, the largest annual jump since November 2022.

The Federal Reserve meets on June 17, the first meeting under new Chair Kevin Warsh. The bond market is fully pricing in a rate hike by year-end.

SpaceX Stages The Biggest IPO In History

Friday belonged to Elon Musk. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) debuted on the Nasdaq at a fixed $135 a share, raising $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation — the largest IPO ever, eclipsing by nearly three times Saudi Aramco.

About 30% of the float went to retail, signaling widespread participation and excitement. Yet space-related stocks sold off sharply, with experts pointing to a rotation into the new name. Within the first two hours of trading, shares of SPCX had already rallied past $175, a 30% gain from their IPO price.

Oracle And Adobe: Records, Then Punished

Two cloud giants delivered record quarters and were punished anyway.

Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) posted fourth-quarter revenue of $19.2 billion. Sales from cloud infrastructure rose 93% and Remaining Performance Obligations — the contracted backlog of future revenue — exploded 363% year-over-year to $638 billion. Yet, capital expenditures jumped 162% in fiscal-year 2026 to $55.7 billion, and management guided fiscal-year 2027 capex to $70 billion, funded with $40 billion of fresh debt and equity. Shares plunged 9% on Thursday and during Friday morning were on track for their worst week since 2002.

Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) posted record second-quarter revenue of $6.62 billion and raised guidance, with AI-first ARR tripling past $500 million. Yet CFO Dan Durn announced his June 15 exit, and investors reacted negatively.

Michigan Sentiment Bounces

After three monthly declines drove the index to an all-time low, the University of Michigan's preliminary June Consumer Sentiment rose 9% to 48.9, helped by easing gas prices. Long-run inflation expectations fell back to 3.4% from 3.9%. Still, Survey of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said that consumers feel burdened by the recent escalation in inflation and worry that higher inflation could remain stubborn going forward, particularly in the short run. The sentiment gauge remains 19% below its year-ago level.