{"id":63376,"date":"2026-06-18T09:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/markets-rally-as-oil-plummets-and-tech-gains-accenture-plunges-on-weak-guidance\/63376\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:38:17","slug":"markets-rally-as-oil-plummets-and-tech-gains-accenture-plunges-on-weak-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/markets-rally-as-oil-plummets-and-tech-gains-accenture-plunges-on-weak-guidance\/63376\/","title":{"rendered":"Markets Rally as Oil Plummets and Tech Gains; Accenture Plunges on Weak Guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Major U.S. indices surged at the open<\/strong>, with the <strong>Nasdaq Composite<\/strong> jumping <strong>1.56%<\/strong> and the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a><\/strong> rising <strong>1.20%<\/strong> as cooling energy prices boosted investor sentiment.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Oil prices<\/a> hit their lowest levels since the start of the Iran war<\/strong> as <strong>Kuwait<\/strong> announced an immediate lift of force majeures and a rapid production ramp-up to <strong>2 million barrels per day<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Accenture (<a href=\"\/stock\/ACN\">ACN<\/a>) shares plummeted 19%<\/strong>, marking its biggest one-day drop on record, after the company slashed its fiscal year guidance citing AI-driven industry disruption.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical tensions remain high<\/strong> as <strong>Israel<\/strong> signals a permanent buffer zone in Lebanon and the <strong>UK<\/strong> pledges a massive <strong>\u00a3752 million<\/strong> military aid package to Ukraine, including <strong>150,000 drones<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>U.S. equity markets opened sharply higher on Thursday, driven by a significant retreat in energy costs and continued momentum in the technology sector. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (<a href=\"\/stock\/DIA\">DIA<\/a>)<\/strong> climbed <strong>407.83 points (0.79%)<\/strong> to <strong>51,900.38<\/strong>, while the <strong>Nasdaq 100<\/strong> futures extended gains to <strong>2%<\/strong> prior to the bell.<\/p>\n<p>The energy sector faced heavy selling pressure as <strong>Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC)<\/strong> announced it would ramp up oil output to top <strong>2 million barrels per day<\/strong> within a week. This supply surge, combined with <strong>Iran<\/strong> lifting trade vessel restrictions at southern ports, sent oil prices to multi-month lows. <em>Cruise operators and airlines saw immediate relief<\/em>, with <strong>Carnival Corp (<a href=\"\/stock\/CCL\">CCL<\/a>)<\/strong> and peers gaining on the prospect of lower fuel expenses.<\/p>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>Accenture (<a href=\"\/stock\/ACN\">ACN<\/a>)<\/strong> became a massive outlier, with shares sinking <strong>19%<\/strong> to levels not seen since the pandemic. The company&#39;s warning regarding AI disruption and a cut to its full-year outlook rattled the consulting space. Conversely, <strong>Adobe (<a href=\"\/stock\/ADBE\">ADBE<\/a>)<\/strong> shares found support as it rolled out new <strong>AI Creative Agents<\/strong> across its flagship Creative Cloud suite.<\/p>\n<p>Regulatory pressures are mounting for &quot;Big Tech&quot; in Europe, as <strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong> cloud services now face &quot;tough&quot; new EU antitrust laws. Despite this, <strong>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong> continued its aggressive expansion of <strong>Alexa+<\/strong>, announcing a launch in Brazil for <strong>R$99,90\/month<\/strong> and plans to enter 10 more countries by 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Monetary policy expectations are shifting as <strong>Macquarie<\/strong> now forecasts <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> interest rate hikes of <strong>25 bps<\/strong> in both <strong>Q4 2026<\/strong> and <strong>Q1 2027<\/strong>. Meanwhile, <strong>ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane<\/strong> noted that while oil prices are falling, food inflation may remain sticky, suggesting the &quot;neutral&quot; rate range has crept up to <strong>2.5%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>In the gaming sector, <strong>Take-Two Interactive (<a href=\"\/stock\/TTWO\">TTWO<\/a>)<\/strong> subsidiary <strong>Rockstar Games<\/strong> provided a major catalyst for the industry, announcing that pre-orders for the highly anticipated <strong>Grand Theft Auto VI<\/strong> will officially begin on <strong>June 25<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>On the geopolitical front, <strong>Prime Minister Netanyahu<\/strong> stated <strong>Israel<\/strong> must maintain a security buffer zone in <strong>Lebanon<\/strong> indefinitely. Simultaneously, the <strong>UK<\/strong> government bolstered its support for <strong>Ukraine<\/strong>, committing to provide <strong>150,000 drones<\/strong> and <strong>350 air defense missiles<\/strong> by the end of the year to counter renewed Russian threats against Ukrainian infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Major U.S. indices surged at the open, with the Nasdaq Composite jumping 1.56% and the S&amp;P 500 rising 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