SpaceX significantly overvalued as huge IPO looms; UK construction output slumps – business live

Time to wrap up….here are today's main stories:

Although tech stocks are under pressure, the wider US stock market is doing better.

Indeed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average just hit a record high, up 821 points or 1.6% today to 51,509.00.

Anticipation about SpaceX's huge IPO could be pulling Wall Street down.

David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, explains:

It's too early to say if this is simply a mild bout of profit-taking, or a harbinger of a more protracted and deeper retreat. But investors will be mindful of the extraordinary gains made in semiconductors over the past two months, and the upcoming SpaceX IPO which is sure to suck some money out of outperforming stocks.

With Broadcom's shares stubbornly down 15% this morning in New York, Joe Mazzola, Head Trading & Derivatives Strategist at Charles Schwab, says:

“Chip stocks finally hit a speed bump early today, and much of Wall Street pressed the brakes on its extended rally. Results from chip giant Broadcom (AVGO) that sent its shares tumbling double digits set the stage for Thursday's weakness, while cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike's (CRWD) post-earnings plunge added to bearish sentiment.

On one positive note, consumer-oriented stocks rose as oil and yields slipped after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire.â€

Crowdstrike are down 9% so far today.

There are worrying signs in the private credit market today.

Blackstone has restricted withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund for the first time, after redemption requests surged to $4.5bn in the second quarter of the year.

Blackstone is limiting redemptions to just 5% of its net assets, after allowing 7.9% to be redeemed in the last quarter.

Such a restriction is allowed under the fund's rules; Blackstone points out that this “structure is a fundamental feature, with investors exchanging some liquidity at times for long-term outperformanceâ€.

Without it, it could be forced into a fire sale of its assets if too many investors tried to cash out at the same time.

The AI industry accounted for more than a third of private credit deals in 2025, data released last month shows.

Broadcom's share price slump has wiped more than $300bn off its value, which the Financial Times say is “one of Wall Street's biggest ever single-day drops in market valueâ€.

The company's value had surged by 55% over the last year, driving its value up to $2.27tn last night.

Technology shares prices are falling at the start of trading in New York, after chip giant Broadcom failed to impress Wall Street last night.

The Nasdaq share index has dropped by 1.08% in early trading, as the recent strong rally in tech stocks hits a hurdle.

This is not a great backdrop for SpaceX's plans for the largest stock market flotation ever, announced last night.

Broadcom are leading the Nasdaq fallers, down 14.3% as its latest outlook for AI sales missed forecasts.

Last night, Broadcom estimated AI chip sales for the third quarter of its financial year would be $16bn, below analysts' estimates of $17.2bn.

Other chip companies' shares have fallen too, with semiconductor designer ARM down 6.2%, and chipmaker AMD down 5.8%.

The AI-led equity rally is showing “signs of fatigueâ€, says Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY, adding:

Broadcom's weaker-than-expected AI revenue outlook has triggered profit-taking across semiconductor and tech stocks, raising questions about the sustainability of valuations and leadership within the AI theme.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefit has jumped.

There were 225,000 fresh ‘initial claims' for jobless support last week, an increase of 13,000, indicating that more US companies cut jobs.

The Unite union have reported that today's fire at a Tata production lines at Port Talbot has caused “substantial damage.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham explains:

I want to thank the emergency services for bringing the situation under control so quickly.

“Thankfully no one was injured in the fire and workers were evacuated safely.

“However, the fire did cause substantial damage to a vital production line.

“Measures must now be put in place to protect jobs both at Tata and down the supply chain during any period of disruption.

“Meanwhile we are asking Tata and the government to ensure that operations are rebuilt as swiftly as possible.â€

Ireland's domestic economy grew in the last quarter, while its wider GDP measure was dragged down by multinationals based in the country.

Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), which measures personal, government, and investment spending, grew by 0.6% in Q1 2026.

However, GDP shrank by over 12%.

Chris Sibley, the assistant director general with responsibility for National Accounts & Price Statistics, explains:

The globalised Industry sector contracted by 35.0% in Q1 2026 when compared with Q4 2025 while the Information & Communication sector posted a decrease of 2.0% over the same period. Overall, the multinational-dominated sector fell by 27.1% in the quarter.

However, there was continued growth in the domestic economy in Q1 2026. Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) grew by 0.6% in the quarter driven by personal spending which also increased by 0.6% while the non-multinational-dominated sector grew by 0.4% over the same period.â€

SpaceX's claim for such as huge valuation is based, in part, on its ambitions to eventually build bases on the Moon and a colony on Mars.

The company's filing for its stock market listing gushes about its plans to save humanity from disaster, saying:

For the entirety of its existence, human civilization has lived on a single celestial body: Earth. The current paradigm, in which human civilization is confined to one planet, exposes humanity to existential threats that are unpredictable and uncontrollable on a planetary scale.

By moving beyond the only home we have ever known, we ensure species-level redundancy and that the light of consciousness will not be tied to a single planet subject to the inevitable hazards of a harsh and vast universe.

We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs. We want to give them a reason to look ahead with excitement, with the prospect that we are entering an age of abundance with an endlessly prosperous and exciting future.

Over in the US, AI has been blamed for a job in company job cuts.

Recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has reported that US-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, up 16% from the 83,387 job cuts recorded in April.

That's also 3% more than in May 2025, and the highest for any May since 2020.

The report found that AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs and the primary industry citing it is Technology.

Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says:

“On top of the headline AI story, we're seeing a sharp rise in cuts tied to acquisitions and mergers and a jump in bankruptcy-related losses, which tells me companies are restructuring aggressively as they reposition for an AI-driven economy.â€

Back in the markets, London's blue-chip share index is now in the red.

Following overnight losses on Wall Street and drops in Asia-Pacific, the FTSE 100 is now down 47 points or 0.46%.

Raffi Boyadjian, lead market analyst at Trading Point, reports:

Notably, Nasdaq futures are struggling the most after Broadcom slumped by around 13% in after-hours trading. Although earnings per share beat expectations, the AI chipmaker disappointed investors with its Q2 revenue as well as its guidance for Q3 revenue.

That knocked sentiment in South Korea, where the KOSPI index (which has been on a blistering run) fell 1.8%.

Asia-focused financial companies are leading the fallers in London, with Prudential and Standard Chartered both down by more than 6%.