Wall Street kicked off the first full trading week of July with gains across the board, as renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence trade lifted technology and semiconductor stocks and helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average close above 53,000 for the first time. Coming off a holiday-shortened week that ended with the Dow at a record high, stocks extended their advance on Monday even as investors weighed a soft June jobs report, falling oil prices, and anticipation of a pivotal earnings report from Samsung Electronics due out Tuesday.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 53,055.91, up 155.84 points, or 0.29%, marking its first close above the 53,000 level. The S&P 500 gained 54.19 points, or 0.72%, to finish at 7,537.43. The Nasdaq Composite led the major indexes higher, climbing 288.49 points, or 1.12%, to close at 26,121.16.
The rally was driven largely by a rebound in chip and Big Tech names after a rough stretch for semiconductor stocks in late June. Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Tesla all advanced, while chipmakers shook off recent weakness. Sentiment got a boost from Foxconn, a key Nvidia supplier, which reported stronger-than-expected quarterly sales over the weekend, reinforcing the view that AI-related demand remains intact. That set up high expectations for Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, which is projected to report an 18-fold jump in quarterly profit when it releases preliminary results on Tuesday.
On the macro side, a disappointing June jobs report released last week has kept alive expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on raising rates, giving investors another reason to stay in stocks. Monday’s services-sector data from S&P Global and the Institute for Supply Management came in roughly in line with expectations, showing modest expansion. Separately, oil prices held near recent lows after OPEC+ agreed to raise output for a fifth straight month and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued to normalize following the US-Iran cease-fire.
Notable Movers
Dell Technologies (DELL) was one of the day’s biggest gainers, closing up 4.43% at 411.80, after President Trump promoted the company’s computers during a White House event tied to the launch of his “Trump Accounts” program. Trump has previously praised Dell and its CEO, Michael Dell, who along with his wife has pledged more than $6 billion to the initiative.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surged as much as 8% during the session after Goldman Sachs reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $640 from $450, adding to a string of bullish calls on the stock from Wells Fargo and Cantor Fitzgerald in recent days.
Alphabet (GOOGL) climbed 1.82% to close at 366.46, helping lead a broader rally in megacap technology names alongside Apple, Meta, and Tesla.
Micron Technology (MU) rose 0.94% to 984.75 after announcing a long-term supply agreement with Ford to provide memory chip technology for the automaker’s vehicles, part of Micron’s push to expand US manufacturing capacity.
Nvidia (NVDA) finished roughly flat after the company denied a report claiming its next-generation Kyber AI server systems face a year-long delay, with the company saying its roadmap “remains intact.”
Looking Ahead
Investors have a busy few days ahead. Samsung Electronics reports preliminary second-quarter results on Tuesday, a print widely seen as a referendum on the durability of AI-driven memory chip demand. That same day, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to officially join the Nasdaq-100 index. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s first policy meeting under new chair Kevin Warsh are due Wednesday and could offer fresh clues on the path for interest rates. Beyond this week, strategists continue to flag the durability of the US-Iran cease-fire as a key swing factor for markets in the second half of the year, given its outsized influence on oil prices, inflation expectations, and Fed policy. For now, with earnings season approaching and chip stocks back in favor, the path of least resistance for stocks has been higher.