The Dow Jones ended Tuesday’s session with gains of close to 150 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 0.8% and 1.5% respectively, as buying continued in chip stocks after the Philadelphia Semiconductor index reported its worst week since April 2025.
How Did The US Markets Fare In H1 2026?
For the first six months of 2026, the Dow Jones ended with gains of close to 9%, marking its best performance in the first half of a calendar year since 2021. During the same period, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 9.6% and 12.8% respectively.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq reported their best quarterly performance since 2020.
However, the Russell 2000, the index housing smallcap companies, outperformed its larger benchmark peers, gaining 22% during the first six months of the year, registering its best performance for such a period since 1991.
How Did Other Asset Classes Fare In H1 2026?
The US Dollar remained largely in a range, but having now crossed the mark of 101 on the upside, the greenback index has gained 3% for the first six months of the year.
Beyond equities, precious metals such as Gold and Silver saw extremely volatile moves during the first half of the year. Having hit record highs of close to $5,600 an ounce, Gold prices are back at the $4,000 mark, and are down 7% for the year so far.
Silver has underperformed Gold, having outperformed it in 2025. The White Metal surged to record levels past the $120 an ounce mark but has fallen more than 50% since then, putting its year-to-date drop so far to 18%.
Bitcoin was a bigger casualty in the first half of the year, underperforming every asset class. The world’s largest crypto token is now down 33% for the year so far, having corrected from record high levels, which were higher than $1,20,000.
How Did Chip Stocks Fare In H1 2026?
The first six months of the year though, have belonged to chip companies, and those who are not called Nvidia. The world’s most valuable company gained only 6% so far this year, and has easily been outshined by its smaller peers.
During the April-June period, the trio of Micron, Intel and AMD, added $2 trillion combined to their respective market capitalization.
Micron, whose shares are up 266% so far this year, more than tripled in value between April and June itself, adding $920 billion to its market capitalization. Shares of Intel and AMD have also gained 255% and 160% so far this year, most of which have come during the last three months.
What Happened to Crude Oil Prices In H1 2026?
Crude oil prices have seen both the highs, and the lows during the first six months of the year.
An escalation in tensions between the US and Iran into a full blown war in March led to prices going up to as high as $125 a barrel in late-March.
However, the subsequent ceasefire and the preliminary MoU signed between the two nations has sent prices tumbling down from those levels and have given up all the war-related gains.
Yet, Brent prices are still up 20% for the year, while at one point, both Brent and WTI had doubled in value, rising over 100% each.
What Are The Important Wall Street Triggers For July?
The start of a new quarter and a new month means data points will begin to be reported.
Since this is a truncated week, the monthly jobs report will be reported on Thursday instead of Friday, while new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will be giving his first public address beyond a Fed policy decision, when he speaks at the European Central Bank (ECB) symposium in Portugal.
Companies will also begin to report results for the quarter gone by starting next week, and beyond the US and Iran, that will be the biggest market trigger.
