NEW YORK, July 3, 2026, 06:01 (EDT)
- U.S. cash equity markets are closed Friday for Independence Day observed. Both the NYSE and Nasdaq mark July 3 as a holiday.
- S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, with Nasdaq futures higher by 1.0%. This comes even after chips pulled the Nasdaq lower on Thursday.
- The Dow ended at a new high, but market breadth stood out: over two-thirds of S&P 500 names gained, even as the headline index showed little change.
- Next week, the U.S. calendar is light and leans rate-sensitive. ISM services hits Monday, with Fed minutes on Wednesday.
U.S. stock investors go into the long weekend without the usual premarket session, as exchanges stay closed for Independence Day observed. The last read on futures had buyers stepping in after a weaker jobs report eased worries about a Fed rate hike soon. U.S. stock and bond markets are shut Friday and regular trading starts back up Monday, July 6.
The Dow finished at a record, but the bigger story was the split between index price and market breadth. On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed little changed, but over two-thirds of its stocks traded higher. The Nasdaq slipped as traders reduced chip bets. That leaves Monday looking less like a typical risk-on move and more like a check on whether buyers stick with old-economy and defensive names while AI shares feel pressure.
| Index | Thursday close | Day change | Week change | 2026 change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,483.24 | flat | up 1.8% | up 9.3% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,900.07 | up 1.1% | up 2.0% | up 10.1% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,832.67 | fell 0.8% | up 2.1% | up 11.1% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,996.11 | down 0.5% | down 0.5% | up 20.7% |
Big losses in chips on Thursday kept a lid on gains elsewhere. The Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 5.4%, its second steep fall in as many days. Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA shed 1.4%. SanDisk NASDAQ:SNDK tumbled 14.1%. Bruce Zaro, managing director at Granite Wealth Management, said traders might be cashing in after a strong stretch. Reuters said the semiconductor index was still up about 78% on the year.
Apple NASDAQ:AAPL moved higher, up 4.8%, after Nikkei Asia said the company has plans for five new iPhone models. That gave a boost to the Dow, while chips didn’t help the Nasdaq. Tesla NASDAQ:TSLA lost 7.5% even with Q2 deliveries beating forecasts. Bending Spoons NASDAQ:BSP slid 11.3%, following a 40% jump after its Nasdaq debut.
Jobs numbers gave futures a boost but didn’t clear the path. Nonfarm payrolls added 57,000 in June and the jobless rate hit 4.2%, with April and May payroll figures cut by 74,000, according to Labor Department data. Labor-force participation dropped to 61.5%, the lowest mark since March 2021.
Adam Sarhan, CEO at 50 Park Investments, said the jobs report “takes the pressure off the Fed to raise rates” right now. Ellen Hazen, chief market strategist at F.L. Putnam Investment Management, called it “the bigger question” why the labor force had shrunk so sharply. Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander U.S. Capital Markets, said policymakers are likely to see the labor market as “neither too hot nor too cold” but thinks the market’s rate-hike repricing doesn’t make sense. Reuters
| Friday premarket/futures item | Latest confirmed read | Investor read |
|---|---|---|
| NYSE/Nasdaq cash stocks | Closed | No regular U.S. stock session |
| S&P 500 futures | +0.3% | Bid for rate relief sticks into holiday |
| Nasdaq futures | +1.0% | Trying a bounce after chip names slid |
| Brent crude | $71.87 | Less inflation threat, but not out |
| WTI crude | $68.63 | Energy shock keeps its place in rate story |
Oil traded close to pre-war levels, giving some support to rate-sensitive assets. Brent crude was up 7 cents at $71.87 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 6 cents to $68.63. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said there was “guarded optimism” as traders tracked peace talks and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters
The risk is still there. James Rossiter, who leads global economics at TD Securities, told Reuters that shipping was already the firm’s largest expected risk this year before the Iran war started. He said rerouted ships hurt global capacity. Dan Coatsworth at AJ Bell said investors should “keep watching the U.S. tech stocks” after the recent pullback. Reuters
Next week’s calendar is lighter on data, but rates come back into focus. MarketWatch’s list includes S&P final U.S. services PMI and ISM services data set for Monday, the May trade balance on Tuesday, wholesale inventories and the June Fed minutes out Wednesday, and weekly jobless claims and existing home sales Thursday.
| Date | U.S. item | Why it matters for stocks |
|---|---|---|
| Monday, July 6 | S&P final U.S. services PMI; ISM services | First look at services demand after soft jobs report |
| Tuesday, July 7 | May trade balance | Dollar and GDP reading |
| Wednesday, July 8 | Fed June meeting minutes; wholesale inventories; consumer credit | Clues on rates and consumer leverage |
| Thursday, July 9 | Initial jobless claims; existing home sales | Jobs follow-up and rate impact on housing |
| Friday, July 10 | None scheduled | Setup for earnings as inflation data comes next week |
PepsiCo NASDAQ:PEP and Delta Air Lines NYSE:DAL will give early reads on second-quarter earnings next week, Reuters reported. Investors also will look at minutes from Kevin Warsh’s first Fed meeting as chair, with markets having taken the June decision as hawkish, according to the same report.
