Wall Street Extends Rally as S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit Record Highs Amid Trade Optimism and Rate Cut Hopes

Rahaman Hadisur
Jul 2
2 min read

Hadisur Rahman, JadeTimes Staff

H. Rahman is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Business

Image Source: Timothy A. Clary/ AFP/Getty Image

U.S. stocks continued their upward momentum on Monday, pushing major indexes to record highs as investors welcomed developments on trade negotiations, potential interest rate cuts, and a calmer geopolitical backdrop.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%. Monday’s session added to a strong June for equities, with the S&P 500 climbing 5% and the Nasdaq advancing 6.6% for the month. The Dow rose 4.3%, marking the second consecutive month of strong gains.

Investor sentiment improved significantly amid news that Canada had repealed its digital services tax to revive trade talks with the United States. Meanwhile, in Washington, Senate votes were underway on President Donald Trump’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes provisions on budget and tax measures.

Global tensions also eased after a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Iran, lowering risk concerns that had recently pressured commodity markets.

Technology stocks showed mixed results Monday. Apple (AAPL) climbed 2% after a Bloomberg report revealed the company may integrate AI from OpenAI or Anthropic into Siri. Broadcom (AVGO) also rose 2%, while Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta (META) made modest gains.

In contrast, Amazon (AMZN) and Tesla (TSLA) slipped nearly 2%, while Alphabet (GOOG) edged lower.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) rebounded 4.3% after announcing a federal partnership with consulting giant Accenture. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) led S&P 500 gainers, surging 11.1% following DOJ approval of its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR), which climbed 8.4%.

Banking stocks rallied after the Federal Reserve’s latest stress test indicated that major U.S. banks could withstand a severe recession. Goldman Sachs (GS) rose 2.5%, while JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) each advanced roughly 1%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.23% its lowest since early May signaling increased expectations of a potential Fed rate cut. The U.S. dollar index dropped 0.6% to 96.81, its weakest reading in three years.

Bitcoin traded at $107,400 in late-afternoon hours, little changed from Friday’s levels, but off overnight highs near $109,000. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.8% to $64.95 a barrel, as supply concerns tied to Middle East conflict eased. Gold rose 0.8% to $3,315 an ounce, remaining elevated amid lingering uncertainty.

Shares of Strategy (MSTR), formerly MicroStrategy, surged over 5% after the company announced a $532 million purchase of 4,900 bitcoin. The move brings its total holdings to 597,325 BTC—valued at over $64 billion. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor reiterated his long-term bullish stance, predicting bitcoin could hit $21 million per coin in two decades.

The second quarter ended with robust gains across the board. The Nasdaq surged 17.8% fueled by renewed investor enthusiasm for AI and growth stocks. The S&P 500 jumped 10.6%, and the Dow climbed 5%.

As of the end of June, the Nasdaq is up 5.5% year-to-date, matching the S&P 500’s performance, while the Dow has added 3.6%.