"The 'June Curse' Strikes Again as US Stock Market's Three Major Indexes Close Lower Across the Board, Chip Index Plunges 10%, Cryptocurrencies Experience a 'Bloodbath'"

On June 6, the long-awaited first "Wash Era" non-farm payroll report came in far hotter than expected, making any imminent rate cut all but impossible. A rate hike is now the market’s prevailing consensus. Data from CME’s FedWatch tool showed the probability of a Fed rate hike by December this year topped 67% at one point. U.S. stocks took a severe beating, with AI and semiconductor shares leading the selloff. Per Bitget data, at Friday’s market close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average initially dipped 1.35%, the S&P 500 fell 2.65% (ending its nine-week winning streak), and the Nasdaq dropped 4.18%. The S&P notched its worst single-day loss since October 2025, while the Nasdaq saw its steepest daily decline since April 2025. Most semiconductor stocks sank— the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) plummeted 10% at close, marking its biggest one-day drop since April 2025. NVIDIA slid over 6%, TSMC fell 6.68%, Broadcom dipped nearly 8%, and Intel cratered more than 11%. Bonds, gold, and cryptos weren’t spared either. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed 7 basis points to 4.54%. Spot gold fell roughly 3.5%, slipping below $4,320 an ounce and erasing all its year-to-date gains. In crypto, per HTX data, Bitcoin briefly fell under $60,000—its first time below that level since October 2024. It’s currently trading at $61,268, down 3.3% in 24 hours. Ethereum dropped below $1,600, changing hands at $1,593, a 9.46% 24-hour slide. Total crypto liquidations hit $1.829 billion in the past day, with long liquidations making up $1.457 billion and short liquidations accounting for $372 million. This is a midterm election year, and historically, June has been the worst-performing month for U.S. stocks—a trend often dubbed the "June Curse." Investors broadly expect the market could soon enter a short-term consolidation phase. What’s more, Bitcoin has a poor track record in June: since 2013, its average June return is -0.14%, only slightly better than September’s -3.08%, making June the second-worst month for the crypto over that period. Earlier, Bank of America warned the current structure of the U.S. stock market closely mirrors the late stages of the 2000 dot-com bubble. The bank cautioned investors to watch for late-bull market risks and gradually shift to defensive positions. Data shows that on May’s last trading day, the S&P 500 hit a record closing high—but only 20 of its constituent stocks simultaneously notched all-time highs, most concentrated in AI and semiconductors. Back in March 2000, at the dot-com bubble’s peak, only roughly 20 stocks hit new highs.