The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1147 ET - Shares of Strategy's perpetual preferred stock STRC - which stands for "Short Duration High Yield Credit" - are off from their $100 peg, at $83.84. Behind this slide is the lower bitcoin prices, with Strategy currently sitting on an unrealized loss of nearly $11 billion. STRC fell as low as $82.53 last week, which is a record-low for the offering. "The main issue is cash coverage," says analysts with CryptoQuant in a note. "Strategy's USD reserve has fallen 38% since the start of 2026, while annualized dividend obligations have nearly quadrupled to $1.2 billion." The cryptocurrency market fears a scenario where Strategy dumps a sizable portion of their bitcoin holdings, as the company says that it holds 847,363 bitcoin -- roughly 4% of all bitcoin in circulation. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1058 ET - Recent Canadian CPI data may be signaling that wireless carriers are showing some discipline in pricing. TD Cowen's Vince Valentini says in a note that wireless prices fell 2.6% year-over-year, but rose 5.9% month-over-month, "which is consistent with the competitive intensity that is suggested with our channel checks," showing that discipline has been "maintained so far through June." Still, Valentini says bigger test for the industry will come later as the industry works to sustain profitable growth through the end of 2026, given "volume growth from immigration may not pick up for another year." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1036 ET - The sudden departure of Dye & Durham CEO George Tsivin adds to a prolonged period of turnover as the embattled cloud-based legal practice management software company continues its strategic review and search for a buyer. The board has handed executive duties to a three-member committee that includes Tyler Proud, the company's activist cofounder who recently rejoined the board through OneMove Capital's settlement with the company. The shift further concentrates operational oversight among directors aligned with recent governance changes, including Chair Mary Filippelli. The board's new leadership says the company must tighten discipline and execution as it weighs steps to simplify the business and shore up its balance sheet. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1001 ET - The cost of insuring euro-denominated credit against default rises as concerns about tech-stock valuations reduce appetite for risk assets. Investors are worried about high valuations on tech companies, some of which lack clear paths to profitability, Swissquote Ipek Ozkardeskaya says in a note. Markets await earnings results from U.S. tech company Micron Technology, set to be released on Wednesday after U.S. market close. The earnings could provide clues on whether the AI-related investments are worthwhile. The iTraxx Europe Crossover index of euro high-yield credit default swaps rises 1 basis point to trade at 249bps, S&P Global Market Intelligence data show. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)
0833 ET - Bitcoin trades steady as U.S. stock futures stabilize following a two-day selloff in tech stocks driven by AI-bubble fears. Micron Technology's quarterly earnings after the U.S. close are in focus, Trade Nation's David Morrison says in a note. "There's a lot of good stuff already priced into the stock, so there's scope for disappointment." However, some positive forward guidance could be enough to boost Micro and the chip sector, he says. Meanwhile, the prospect of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates creates a headwind for tech stocks as it would make it more expensive to fund AI infrastructure spending via bond issues, he says. Bitcoin trades flat at $62,380, having reached a 12-day low of $61,921 Tuesday, LSEG data show. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)"The Meta Glasses launch will reassure investors who were concerned about the lack of cheaper smart glasses to compete with competition," Rossi says. "EssilorLuxottica, Meta's More Affordable AI Glasses Support Upselling Opportunities -- Market Talk," at 1145 GMT, misspelled Cedric Rossi's name.
0745 ET - EssilorLuxottica and Meta's new range of cheaper AI glasses should broaden the addressable market and support upselling opportunities toward higher-end Ray-Ban and Oakley collections, Stifel's Cedric Rossi writes. The companies announced the new collection on Tuesday with a starting price of $299. "The Meta Glasses launch will reassure investors who were concerned about the lack of cheaper smart glasses to compete with competition," Rossi says. EssilorLuxottica shares are down 3.7% at 161.95 euros and are 40% lower over the year to date.(ian.walker@wsj.com) Corrections & Amplifications
This article was corrected at 08:08 a.m. ET to fix a misspelled name. It is misspelled Cedric Rossi, not Ross.
0731 ET - The Sage Group is unlikely to change its organic growth guidance for fiscal 2026, partly due to slightly tougher comparatives in the fourth quarter, UBS analysts write in a note. The accounting software company is set to report double-digit growth in its third-quarter results, in line with its first-half performance, they say. "However, we do not expect any update to guidance for 'above 9%' organic growth in the year, notwithstanding the strong first 9 months," the analysts say. Sage is due to post its third-quarter results on July 29. Shares are down 0.6% at 8.02 pounds.(najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0700 ET - Technoprobe will be among European leaders in the semiconductor supply chain, Bank of America analysts write in a note. Milan-listed Technoprobe, which makes equipment used in quality testing of AI chips, will retain its majority share in the supply of probe cards for Nvidia GPU chips, they say. The company can grow further as other chips increasingly require complex testing. "Demand will likely continue to outpace supply, thus we expect Technoprobe to further accelerate capacity expansion plans." Technoprobe shares rise 1.2%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0558 ET - Investors signaled renewed confidence in Tencent after the Chinese tech giant announced the impending release of an AI agent for its WeChat workplace app WeCom. Tencent shares posted their largest gain in three weeks after the company's public relations head, Zhang Jun, said on social media that internal testing has started on new AI agent Dayuan. The stock jumped as much as 6.0% during the session before closing 3.4% higher at HK$428.80. Jun said Dayuan is capable of automatically analyzing existing work-related data such as emails and documents already within a user's WeCom to provide tailored responses to requests, as well as to complete recurring daily tasks.(jason.chau@wsj.com)
0515 ET - Chinese policy support for the humanoid-robot industry is strengthening, according to Morgan Stanley. It notes Beijing's inclusion of robotics as a strategic emerging industry in its 15th Five-Year Plan. Support is also materializing among state-owned enterprises, with actual orders placed, MS adds in a research note. It cites State Grid's 6.8 billion yuan order for 500 humanoid robots, 3,000 dual-arm robots and 5,000 quadruped robots as an example. Overall, the industry's outlook is positive, thanks to stronger commercialization momentum, policy support and positive supplier feedback, MS writes. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0428 ET - The dollar could continue to outperform other safe-haven currencies if risk aversion persists following a recent selloff in tech stocks, ING's Francesco Pesole says in a note. The dollar offers strong growth and attractive yields compared to other safe havens such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, he says. "Whether this is a moderate correction in a stellar year for artificial intelligence stocks or the start of a more prolonged equity downturn, the dollar should outperform while risk aversion holds," he says. In the medium term, however, the dollar could fall if a potentially prolonged equity selloff prompts a repricing in U.S. rate-rise bets, he says. The DXY dollar index rises to a 13-month high of 101.687. (renae.dyer@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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