S&P 500 Posts Best Week of 2026 While Semiconductors Drop 6.7% as 57,000 June Jobs Versus 113,000 Expected Supports Fed Hold. Markets Reopen Monday July 7 After July 4 Holiday
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1.1%, nearly 600 points, toward a new record, while the S&P 500 was little changed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% following Wednesday’s chip-sector-led slide. Yahoo Finance
U.S. equities delivered a positive but highly polarized performance during the week ending July 2, 2026, with financial markets closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of Independence Day. The S&P 500 rose 1.8% to end the trading week at 7,483.24, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 2.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.0%, climbing to a new record high.
The defining catalyst of the week was the June employment report, which was pulled forward to Thursday, July 2, due to the holiday. Nonfarm payrolls grew by a softer-than-expected 57,000 jobs, representing a notable slowdown from previous months, while the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.2%.
Sector performance diverged sharply as communication services and financial services led the market with substantial weekly gains. Conversely, chipmakers and artificial intelligence infrastructure providers faced a severe correction, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index dropping 6.7% as investors aggressively locked in profits.
Palantir Technologies surged 14.5% following a strategic initiative announced with Nvidia to deploy advanced AI models within secure sovereign and government environments, while Palo Alto Networks climbed 14.42% as investors rotated into cybersecurity.
The week’s split verdict; Dow to a record, semiconductors down 6.7%, captures a market in mid-rotation. The AI trade is not dead. It is being repriced. And the jobs report just handed the Fed every reason it needs to stay on hold.
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