Dow Jones ends at record 52,900, chips mixed ahead of Fed week

NEW YORK, July 3, 2026, 16:04 (EDT)

• U.S. cash equity markets were closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday; Thursday’s close stands as the latest figure for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI).
• The Dow finished at a record 52,900.07, gaining 594.83 points. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dropped 0.80%, and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index (INDEXNASDAQ:SOX) sank 5.44%.
• Out of 30 Dow stocks, 25 climbed Thursday, and the median gain was around 2.1%. Breadth on the Nasdaq went negative.
• Fed minutes are due next week, with Delta Air Lines Inc. NYSE:DAL and PepsiCo Inc. NASDAQ:PEP also set to report early earnings.

U.S. stock markets were closed for trading Friday, leaving Thursday’s closes unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) ended at a record high 52,900.07, up 1.14%. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) ended flat. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) slipped 0.80%. That put the Dow ahead of the Nasdaq by 1.94 points on the session, a sharp spread heading into the long holiday break.

This isn’t just a broad risk-on move; buyers looked for safety as chips sold off again. The Dow tracks 30 big stocks, weighting them by price, so gains in the highest-priced names move the index more than moves in bigger companies.

The Dow ended the week with 25 of its 30 members higher, five lower. The median stock in the group gained about 2.1%. Apple Inc. NASDAQ:AAPL was up 4.84%. McDonald’s Corp. NYSE:MCD rose 4.16%. Walt Disney Co. NYSE:DIS advanced 3.96%. Honeywell International Inc. NASDAQ:HON picked up 3.66%.

NYSE advancers outpaced decliners by 1.42 to 1, but the Nasdaq saw more decliners than gainers, 1.05 to 1. The semiconductor index dropped 5.44% to 12,626.22. Nvidia slipped 1.4%. SanDisk Corp. NASDAQ:SNDK tumbled 14.1%.

Dow climbed after the labor report. U.S. payrolls rose by 57,000 in June, while unemployment came in at 4.2% and participation slipped to 61.5%. The payroll growth for April and May got revised down by a total of 74,000. Leisure and hospitality jobs dropped by 61,000.

Adam Sarhan, CEO at 50 Park Investments, said the report “doesn’t mean the fear of inflation is over,” but it “takes the pressure off the Fed” in the short term. Bruce Zaro at Granite Wealth Management said chip investors were probably “taking profits” after a strong run. Reuters

Apple gave a boost to the Dow after Nikkei Asia said the company is working on five new iPhone models, according to Reuters. Shares of Tesla Inc. NASDAQ:TSLA dropped 7.5% after second-quarter deliveries topped forecasts, which suggests some popular names still face tough expectations this holiday.

Dow finished up around 2% for the week, marking a fourth consecutive weekly advance, the longest since October 2024. The S&P 500 climbed roughly 1.8% and the Nasdaq added about 2.1%. Thursday’s drop in chip stocks didn’t wipe out the Nasdaq’s gains over the short week.

Next week brings Fed minutes from the June meeting, the first with Chair Kevin Warsh. Delta Air Lines and PepsiCo will also report early earnings. Joe Mazzola, head trading and derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab Corp. NYSE:SCHW, said he’s watching if the broadening trend keeps up. Matthew Miskin at Manulife Financial Corp.’s NYSE:MFC John Hancock Investments said the Fed minutes should show “how incrementally hawkish are they leaning.” Reuters

Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Financial Corp. NYSE:TFC, said earnings have to “validate the earnings trajectory.” That’s the next hurdle for the Dow: seeing if investors stay with cash-flow stocks if the Fed stays hawkish and chips remain under pressure.