Nasdaq heads for best Q2 since 2020 as chip stocks surge

U.S. stocks pushed higher connected Tuesday, the last trading time of the 2nd quarter, with the Nasdaq connected gait to adjacent retired a 20% quarterly summation — its champion since the 2nd 4th of 2020. The S&P 500 has risen astir 14% implicit the aforesaid period, besides its strongest 4th since mid-2020.

Semiconductor stocks drove the large indexes guardant connected Tuesday. Intel banal jumped 4% and Advanced Micro Devices roseate 3%, with Nvidia tacking connected much than 1%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF was up 3%. The Dow added 123 points, a summation of astir 0.2%, arsenic the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted advances of 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively.

Zooming retired to the afloat archetypal half, small-caps were a standout: The Russell 2000 climbed much than 21%, a show not seen since 1991, according to CNBC. Large-cap benchmarks besides posted coagulated six-month results, with the Nasdaq up much than 11% and some the S&P 500 and the Dow each gaining much than 8% — the latter's strongest January-through-June agelong since 2021.

The roadworthy to those quarterly highs hasn't been smooth: Energy-price whipsawing and questions astir the durability of AI concern rattled markets astatine assorted points, and a crisp retreat successful exertion shares arsenic precocious arsenic past week gave mode lone erstwhile buyers stepped backmost successful astatine the commencement of this week.

Sunday's ceasefire statement betwixt Washington and Tehran — nether which some nations paused attacks and reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercialized shipping — translated straight into Monday's marketplace rally. A U.S. authoritative confirmed to CNBC that "both sides volition basal down for present and vessels tin determination freely," and equities responded sharply, with the S&P 500 closing 1.18% higher and the Nasdaq up 2.07%.

Diplomatic enactment continued to gully attention, with Trump having announced Monday that U.S. and Iranian representatives would convene successful Qatar connected Tuesday. Iran has yet to corroborate that timeline, with an Iranian authoritative indicating nary determination connected scheduling had been reached, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Oil prices were small changed connected Tuesday contempt the diplomatic developments. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded adjacent $71 a barrel, portion Brent crude was adjacent $73 a tube — good beneath levels earlier successful the 4th erstwhile Middle East tensions flared.

In a Tuesday enactment reported by CNBC, UBS strategists acknowledged that questions astir AI capital-expenditure sustainability person not gone away, adjacent arsenic markets statesman the week connected an upbeat note. The squad argued that portion AI-linked equities should proceed to abstracted winners from losers implicit time, a purely concentrated attack carries hazard — advising clients to look astatine "more antiaircraft areas wrong the AI complex, specified arsenic information halfway operators and prime outgo companies, arsenic good arsenic different structural trends."