Investors eye Middle East tensions and the Fed's 'dot plot': What to know this week

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The recent stock market rally hit a pause last week, as an Israeli airstrike on Iran sent oil prices higher and equities lower to end the first full trading week of June. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1%. Meanwhile the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3%.

This week, investors will have a close eye on rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly Iran's response. In scheduled events, the Federal Reserve's latest policy statement is set for release on Wednesday. The latest summary of Economic Projections — including its "dot plot," which maps out policymakers' expectations for where interest rates could be headed in the future — will also be released at 2 p.m. ET followed by a press conference from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Elsewhere in economic news, the release of retail sales for the month of May will also gain investor attention on Tuesday. Markets will be closed for Juneteenth on Thursday. Yahoo Finance reports.

💶 EU prepared to accept flat 10% US tariff with conditions, Handelsblatt reports: Brussels negotiators hope that offering to accept U.S. tariffs of 10% across all of the European Union's exports into the United States will avert any higher duties on cars, drugs and electronics, newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Monday.

Citing high-ranking EU negotiators, the paper said the offer to U.S. counterparts would come only under certain conditions and would not be billed as permanent. Handelsblatt also said the EU was, in return, ready to cut its tariffs on US-made vehicles, and to possibly change technical or legal hurdles to make it easier for US manufacturers to sell their cars in Europe. Yahoo Finance reports.

🏦 Investors shun long-term US bonds as hopes for aggressive Fed rate cuts fade: Bond investors, anticipating the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady again this week, are moving away from longer-dated Treasuries as they temper expectations for an aggressive easing given the lower chance of a U.S. recession.

Their flight away from the long end of the curve also reflects worries about President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, which is being considered by the U.S. Senate. Reuters reports.

🛢️Global shares gain while oil prices ease on Day 4 of latest Israel-Iran crisis: Global shares have advanced and oil prices have fallen back slightly as Iran unleashed a fresh wave of missile attacks on Israel early Monday. Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets caused the price of oil to surge more than 7% on Friday since Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil, though sanctions by Western countries have limited its sales.

A wider war could slow the flow of Iranian oil to its customers and keep prices of crude and gasoline higher for everyone worldwide. But early Monday, those concerns appeared to abate slightly. AP News reports.

🖥️ Meta investors cheer as Zuckerberg doubles down on AI commitment: Meta Platforms keeps writing bigger checks in pursuit of its artificial intelligence strategy, and traders keep cheering it on, encouraged that the expensive bets will keep paying off.

The stock is back near record territory after soaring more than 40% from its April low. Last week, Meta finalized a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, whose leader is joining a team being assembled by Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to pursue artificial general intelligence. That came just after Meta raised its capital spending forecast for 2025 to as much as $72 billion. Yahoo Finance reports.

🏥 US pharma bets big on China to snap up potential blockbuster drugs: U.S. drugmakers are licensing molecules from China for potential new medicines at an accelerating pace, according to new data, betting they can turn upfront payments of as little as $80 million into multibillion-dollar treatments.

Through June, U.S. drugmakers have signed 14 deals potentially worth $18.3 billion to license drugs from China-based companies. That compares with just two such deals in the year-earlier period, according to data from GlobalData provided exclusively to Reuters. Market Screener reports.

💊 Lilly to offer higher dose versions of weight-loss drugs on website: U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly said on Monday it will offer the higher dose versions of its popular weight-loss drug Zepbound on its website LillyDirect.

The company said 12.5 milligrams and 15 mg doses of the drug will be available for $499 per month on the website with shipments to patients beginning in early August. Market Screener reports.

💳 Amex Platinum refresh adds new lounges, dining perks to appeal to Gen Z cardmembers: American Express is planning to refresh its Platinum Card and Business Platinum Card later this year in a move meant to make the premium travel card more appealing to the company’s fast-growing cohort of Gen Z consumers, Howard Grosfield, Group President, U.S. Consumer Services at American Express. Yahoo Finance reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $TMDE: TMD Energy Limited

Total gain: +187.02%

2) $BATL: Battalion Oil

Total gain: +161.58%

3) $DWSN: Dawson Geophysical

Total gain: +155.47%

4) $OP: OceanPal

Total gain: +145.96%

5) $RGC: Regencell Bioscience

Total gain: +118.70%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on June 13.
Benzinga reports.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $RBNE: Robin Energy

Total gain: +314.42%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

2) $ICON: Icon Energy

Total gain: +64.8%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

3) $USEG: US Energy

Total gain: +56.33%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars


LEN: Lennar
2Q 2025

After Market Close
Estimate: 1.940
Actual: N/A

RNW: ReNew Energy Global
4Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.070
Actual: N/A

APPS: Digital Turbine
4Q 2025

After Market Close
Estimate: 0.040
Actual: N/A

"Don't fall in love with a stock. It doesn't know you own it." - Jim Cramer

Sourced in: "Jim Cramer's Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich”, by Jim Cramer, published in 2006.