NEW YORK, July 2, 2026, 20:02 EDT
- Dow ended at a record 52,900.07. S&P 500 finished little changed at 7,483.24. Nasdaq slipped 0.8% to 25,832.67.
- June payrolls added 57,000 jobs, but labor-force participation dropped to 61.5%.
- Both NYSE and Nasdaq will be closed Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday.
Dow closed at a record while AI names slid as U.S. stocks finished the session before the July 4 break. Volume and market breadth told the story—U.S. exchange volume reached 19.92 billion shares, which is about 14.7% under the 20-day average. The Dow picked up 594.83 points as the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 5.4%.
| Regular-session close | Last | Day move | Week move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,900.07 | up 594.83, or 1.14% | roughly 2.0% higher |
| S&P 500 | 7,483.24 | up 0.01, flat for the day | up 1.8% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,832.67 | fell 207.36, or 0.80% | up 2.1% this week |
The mix is important because the S&P 500’s record close wasn’t a straight run for growth stocks. AP said about 70% of S&P 500 stocks gained, but losses in chip names left the main indexes split. Micron Technology Inc NASDAQ:MU dropped 5.5%, Nvidia Corp NASDAQ:NVDA slipped 1.4%, and Lam Research Corp NASDAQ:LRCX sank 10.2%.
| Tape check | Reading | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| NYSE advance/decline ratio | 1.42-to-1 | Wide buying into older sectors |
| Nasdaq advancers vs decliners | 2,419 vs 2,548 | Tech keeps lagging |
| NYSE new highs/new lows | 318 vs 111 | Breadth looks decent minus big chips |
| U.S. exchange volume | 19.92 bln shares | Volume sits 14.7% under 20-day |
After hours trading didn’t change the split. Around 19:46 ET, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) was up 0.13%. Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ gained 0.22%. SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:DIA) was up 0.04%. iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) dipped 0.08%. Nvidia stayed among the top after-hours movers, off 0.19%. Apple Inc NASDAQ:AAPL lost 0.14%. Tesla Inc NASDAQ:TSLA rose 0.19%.
| After-hours screen | Last | Move | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA | $194.46 | -0.19% | 13.36 mln |
| Apple NASDAQ:AAPL | $308.20 | -0.14% | 3.98 mln |
| Tesla NASDAQ:TSLA | $394.19 | +0.19% | 2.84 mln |
| Microsoft Corp NASDAQ:MSFT | $390.70 | +0.05% | 3.31 mln |
Jobs data opened things up for rates. Nonfarm payrolls climbed by 57,000 in June, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment rate landed at 4.2%. The leisure and hospitality sector dropped 61,000 jobs. April and May payrolls revised down by a total of 74,000. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% on the month, up 3.5% year over year.
“The slowdown in payroll growth challenges the narrative of renewed labour market strength,” Principal Asset Management chief global strategist Seema Shah said, Reuters reported. Bets on a July Fed hike dropped below 20% in short-term rate futures, and traders now see about 60% odds for a September hike, down from roughly 75% before the numbers came out. Reuters
Adam Sarhan, CEO at 50 Park Investments in New York, said the report “doesn’t mean the fear of inflation is over,” but it “takes the pressure off the Fed” for now. Bret Kenwell, investment analyst at eToro U.S., said the data “doesn’t scream labor-market trouble,” but cools the rate-hike story for now. Reuters
Apple gave some support to the indexes, rising 4.8% after Nikkei Asia said it will roll out five new iPhone models. SanDisk Corp NASDAQ:SNDK sank 14.1%. Tesla slid 7.5%, even after posting better-than-expected second-quarter deliveries. The takeaway: Even strong company news wasn’t enough to protect crowded trades after a fast rally.
Chip stocks fell worldwide. South Korea’s Kospi dropped almost 8%. Reuters said Meta Platforms Inc NASDAQ:META plans to offer computing power, which has some wondering about too much AI capacity. A U.S. semiconductor index lost 5.5% in the global action. The dollar index slid 0.52% to 100.87 after jobs data.
Nasdaq’s after-hours session normally goes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET. Both NYSE and Nasdaq closed Friday, so trades reported around 19:46 ET represented some of the last electronic equity moves before the break.
