NEW YORK, June 18, 2026, 16:03 EDT
- The S&P 500 closed up 1.07%, Nasdaq climbed 1.48%, and the Dow was up 0.35% after Thursday’s session, according to MarketWatch data.
- Chip stocks bounced after President Donald Trump said Apple and Intel will work together on U.S. chip design and manufacturing.
- Markets are closed Friday for Juneteenth. Investors are left to consider oil moves, Fed rate uncertainty and quarterly options expiry going into the long weekend.
Nasdaq led gains as U.S. stocks finished up on Thursday. Chipmakers rallied, and oil pulled back after an early U.S.-Iran deal took some heat off inflation worries.
S&P 500 closed at 7,499.77, up 1.07% for the day. Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.48% to finish at 26,406.98, a gain of 385.32 points. Dow Jones Industrial Average added 180.25 points, or 0.35%, to end at 51,672.80, MarketWatch data showed.
The timing was key as Wall Street had just dropped on worries the Federal Reserve could raise rates instead of cutting. Fed officials on Wednesday held the benchmark rate steady at 3.5% to 3.75%. They now see the year-end federal funds rate at 3.8%, up from 3.4% in March, according to their latest projections.
Trading wrapped up early ahead of the holiday, with NYSE set to close Friday for Juneteenth. Investors faced a shorter window to react to news on oil, rates or global headlines before the long weekend.
Tech shares led the market. Intel rose after Trump said Apple would team up with the chipmaker to design and build chips in the U.S., which could be a boost for Intel’s foundry business. Reuters said the Philadelphia semiconductor index beat the market, and Nvidia and Micron moved higher too with the sector.
“There are three factors causing the rally,” Cantor chief equity and macro strategist Eric Johnston told Reuters. He cited semiconductors, lower oil, and a change in how traders are viewing the Fed. Johnston also said some investors see more inflation credibility at the Fed after Chair Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting. Reuters
Oil prices helped hold up stocks. Brent crude finished up 0.4% at $79.85 a barrel, according to AP, after trading lower for most of the session. U.S. crude ended down 0.2% at $75.85. Lower oil means less inflation pressure, since fuel costs hit transport, production and homes.
Accenture shares fell after the company trimmed its full-year local currency revenue-growth target to 3% to 4%. The firm posted $18.7 billion in revenue for the quarter, with EPS up 9%. CEO Julie Sweet pointed to an increase in “large-scale AI transformation programs,” but investors focused on the guidance cut. Cognizant, Gartner and IBM also traded lower. Business Wire
Kroger shares dropped after earnings missed forecasts. SpaceX also moved lower, posting a second day of declines following its first session last week, Reuters said. The losses pulled the Dow back compared to the Nasdaq, and traders focused on specifics rather than buying across the board just because markets improved.
Thursday’s bounce could be short-lived. Traders still saw a 50% shot at a 25-basis-point rate hike in September, according to Reuters, with each basis point worth one-hundredth of a percent. Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, pointed to ongoing uncertainty on “potential flare-ups” and the “path forward for Iran’s nuclear program,” keeping oil on watch as a risk for stocks. Reuters
Chips led the bounce, lower yields propped up valuations, and oil’s spike lost steam. Markets had a pressure release, not a full reset. The Fed has been less clear with guidance, and with Friday’s holiday, investors now wait for trading to reopen to see if gains stick.
