After the strongest quarter for U.S. stocks in six years, investors are entering July with a familiar problem: the good news may have become a little too good. The S&P 500 rose 9.1% in the first half, including dividends. Europe did even better, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Total Return index up 10.3%. Japan's Nikkei jumped 39%. South Korea's KOSPI did something closer to levitation, rising 101%, helped by artificial intelligence enthusiasm and local policy shifts. That is the backdrop for today's softer session. U.S. stocks are set to open lower, European indexes have already slipped, and parts of Asia were mixed.
