U.S. equities advanced in a holiday-shortened week, with markets closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day. Stocks opened the week strong as a relief rally in megacap technology names lifted the major averages Monday and Tuesday — the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing out the best quarter for U.S. indexes since 2020 — before tech weakness resurfaced Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the late-week fade, the large-cap benchmarks posted solid gains, and the Dow closed Thursday at a fresh all-time high of 52,900.07, rising 1.14% in the final session as 24 of its 30 components advanced.

Leadership rotated notably away from technology. Semiconductors and megacap growth names (Tesla -6.4%, Meta -3.8% Thursday) weighed on the Nasdaq late in the week, while communication services, financials, health care, consumer staples, and utilities outperformed. Small caps lagged, with the Russell 2000 slipping back below the 3,000 level.

Index Performance for the Week

IndexWeekly ChangeThursday CloseS&P 500+1.8%~7,483Dow Jones Industrial Average+2.0%52,900.07 (record)Nasdaq Composite+2.1%~25,830Russell 2000~ -1.1%2,980.05

Material Economic Data

June Employment Report (Thursday): Nonfarm payrolls rose just 57,000, well below the ~115,000 consensus, and May was revised down to 129,000. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2%, though the decline was driven by a 0.3-point drop in labor force participation to 61.5%. Wage growth of 3.5% y/y matched expectations. Markets read the soft print constructively — cooler job growth reduces pressure on the more hawkish Fed officials who have floated additional rate hikes to combat inflation (CPI ran 4.2% y/y in May, the highest since 2023).

Initial Jobless Claims: 215,000 vs. 219,000 expected, down slightly from 216,000 — still consistent with a steady labor market.

Fed Policy: The FOMC held rates steady in June, but the committee remains split roughly evenly between members favoring one to two hikes this year and those favoring holding or cutting. Chair Kevin Warsh noted last week that "inflation risks have come down" as energy prices retreat.

Energy / Geopolitics: WTI crude fell to roughly $67.60 (-1.4% Thursday), extending its slide back below $70 — near pre-Iran-war levels — as U.S.–Iran negotiations progressed and tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz normalized. Falling crude is expected to pull pump prices lower over the next one to two months, a potential tailwind for consumers.

Other Notables

Microsoft announced a $2.5 billion investment to launch an AI deployment unit ("Microsoft Frontier Company") staffing ~6,000 employees. Rivian surged ~15% after raising 2026 delivery guidance to 65,000–70,000 vehicles. Bitcoin rose nearly 5% to ~$61,275 on easing inflation concerns. Gold was little changed near $4,079/oz. The U.S. bond market closed early Thursday; equity markets reopen Monday, July 6.

Looking Ahead

Investors return to a full trading week Monday with focus on whether the labor market's cooling trend keeps the Fed on hold, the path of oil and gasoline prices, and early Q3 positioning after the strongest quarter since 2020.

Sources: TheStreet, Edward Jones Weekly Market Wrap, J.P. Morgan Weekly Market Recap. For informational purposes only; not investment advice.