The New York stock market closed higher on the last day of the first half, buoyed by a sharp rise in technology stocks, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) chip-related shares.
On June 30 (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,319.20, up 136.46 points (0.26%) from the previous trading day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 58.93 points (0.79%) to 7,499.36, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 393.58 points (1.52%) to 26,213.72.
Among the top technology stocks by market capitalization, most posted gains, including Nvidia (up 2.63%), Apple (2.70%), Microsoft (1.21%), Google parent Alphabet (1.05%), SpaceX (4.06%), Broadcom (1.42%), Tesla (2.13%), and Facebook parent Meta (0.12%). Amazon (-0.75%) declined despite the rising market.
On this day, bargain-hunting buying flowed strongly into semiconductor-related stocks, which had undergone a correction for some time. Micron (0.79%), AMD (7.68%), Intel (6.01%), Applied Materials (4.08%), Lam Research (5.46%), and SanDisk (10.89%) rose sharply. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also climbed 3.92%.
The somewhat improved situation in the Middle East, which had been experiencing armed conflict, also helped improve investor sentiment. The United States and Iran each sent delegations to Doha, Qatar, the mediating country, putting behind them four days of localized clashes. However, uncertainty remains, as the two countries continue to make conflicting statements regarding the negotiations.
With this day's close, the three major New York indexes all set records by finishing the first half of the year higher. In the first half, the Dow rose 8.9%, the S&P 500 rose 9.6%, and the Nasdaq rose 12.8%. All three set new record highs during the first half. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), with this day's gains, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes rose 15% and 21%, respectively, in the second quarter. For both indexes, this marked the highest quarterly gain in six years, since the second quarter of 2020. The Dow posted its highest half-year gain in five years, since the first half of 2021. The small- and mid-cap Russell 2000 index also jumped more than 21%, achieving its best first-half performance since 1991. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged as much as 101.1% in the first half of the year.
International oil prices fell on expectations of resumed talks between the U.S. and Iran. On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, U.K., Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 0.3% to $72.92 per barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for September delivery closed down 1.8% at $69.5 per barrel. Brent crude futures fell 21% in June, following a 19% plunge in May amid ceasefire negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. According to Reuters, June's decline was the largest since March 2020 (-55%), during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the U.S. benchmark interest rate cut cycle effectively ending, international gold prices fell the most in 13 years in the second quarter of this year. Spot gold fell to as low as $3,943 per troy ounce at one point during the session, reaching its lowest level since November of last year. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the near-month gold futures price fell 13.4% in the second quarter, marking the largest quarterly decline in 13 years, since the second quarter of 2013. Silver futures prices also fell 20.4% in the second quarter, the largest drop since January 2020.
