NEW YORK – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended sharply higher on July 6, with Broadcom and other chip stocks rallying as investors bought shares in companies related to artificial intelligence that are expected to drive a strong second-quarter earnings season.
Broadcom jumped 3.7 per cent after the chipmaker and Apple agreed to extend a deal through 2031 to develop and supply a range of custom chips.
The S&P 500 information technology sector index climbed 1.3 per cent, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 2.2 per cent after two straight sessions of losses.
“This is a market that’s leaving a lot of people out. If you’re not in certain tech names, if you’re not in semiconductors, then you’re basically missing the entire rally,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I think it’s a very tenuous rally. There is a risk, particularly if the Fed continues to see higher interest rates for longer.”
Taking advantage of massive investor demand for AI-related chip stocks, South Korea’s SK Hynix was set to debut on the Nasdaq later this week. Microsoft shares fell almost 1 per cent after the tech heavyweight said it was cutting about 2.1 per cent of its workforce, or roughly 4,800 jobs.
“What the market is saying is Microsoft can’t afford all of its CapEx and there’s not a clear return on invested capital yet. Therefore, laying off people in lieu of moderating CapEx spend is perceived as a negative,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC.
In economic data, the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index edged down to 54.0 in June, matching expectations. SpaceX dipped 1 per cent with over US$26 billion (S$33.5 billion) worth of its shares exchanged, most of that in the final seconds of the session.
Elon Musk’s rocket and AI giant is set to join the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 on July 7. The S&P 500 climbed 0.72 per cent to end the session at 7,537.43 points.
The Nasdaq gained 1.12 per cent to 26,121.16 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 per cent to 53,055.91 points.
Even though the S&P 500 rose, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the index by a 1.3-to-one ratio.
Following July 6’s gains, the S&P 500 is up about 10 per cent in 2026, and it remains down about 1 per cent from its record high close on June 2.
With major US companies set to begin reporting quarterly earnings in the next few days, investors have high expectations.
Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to increase their earnings by an aggregate 24 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Tech sector earnings are projected to jump around 65 per cent.
Delta Air Lines and PepsiCo are set to report results later in the week. Following a cooler-than-expected jobs report last week, traders see a 25 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the central bank’s July 29 meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Hawkish bets had risen after last month’s Fed meeting, the first under new Chair Kevin Warsh.
The minutes are due on July 8. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on July 6 that forward guidance can be a “valuable tool” that speeds up the impact of monetary policy under the right circumstances, but can become problematic when used inflexibly.
Shares of O’Reilly Automotive tumbled 6.7 per cent after Bloomberg News reported on July 2 that the auto parts retailer sent a cash offer to buy Genuine Parts. Genuine Parts fell about 3 per cent.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 16.8 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 23.4 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. REUTERS
