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Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a positive note, notching back-to-back record closes ahead of the July 4 Independence Day weekend.
Sentiment was driven by trade deals and a surprisingly strong June jobs report. On Monday, the benchmark S&P 500 index (SP500) topped 6,200 points for the first time ever, ending a tumultuous and turbulent H1 on a high with a +5.5% advance.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam on Wednesday, driving the S&P to another high. The President has said he will not extend the current pause on reciprocal tariffs, which is set to expire on July 9, and will start sending letters to trading partners specifying the tariff rates they will have to pay.
On Thursday, the June nonfarm payrolls reading came in significantly higher than anticipated, which helped the benchmark gauge scale another peak.
Another notable development during the week was the passage of Trump's sweeping "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" in both the House and the Senate. The President signed it into law on Friday evening, marking the biggest legislative win of his second term.
For the week, the S&P (SP500) climbed +1.7%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) added +1.6%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) surged +2.3%. Read a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.
Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week
NextEra Energy (NEE) Turns Headwinds Into Strategic Leverage.
BST: Attractive Magnificent 7-Heavy CEF With An AI Catalyst.
Eastman Chemical (EMN) Plows Ahead - Strong Fundamentals.
Rivian's (RIVN) Turnaround Story Still Needs A Reality Check.
Upgrading Strategy (MSTR) After Unusual Insider Purchases.
Valuation Check: Time To Trim Your Celestica (CLS) Position.
KIO: Price Run Has Decreased Appeal Here, Holding For Now.
QYLD Vs. JEPQ: Two Reasons To Go With The Latter ETF.
Washington Trust Bancorp (WASH): Time For A Downgrade.
Triple Downgrade For Credo (CRDO) - Booking Fat Returns.
Weekly Movement
U.S. Indices
Dow +2.3% to 44,829. S&P 500 +1.7% to 6,279. Nasdaq +1.6% to 20,601. Russell 2000 +3.5% to 2,249. CBOE Volatility Index +7.1% to 17.48.
S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples +1.4%. Utilities +0.6%. Financials +2.4%. Telecom -0.2%. Healthcare +1.2%. Industrials +1.7%. Information Technology +2.4%. Materials +3.7%. Energy +2.1%. Consumer Discretionary +0.8%. Real Estate +1.5%.
World Indices
London +0.3% to 8,823. France +0.1% to 7,696. Germany -1% to 23,787. Japan -0.9% to 39,811. China +1.4% to 3,472. Hong Kong -1.5% to 23,916. India -0.7% to 83,433.
Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI +1.5% to $66.49/bbl. Gold +1.8% to $3,346.5/oz. Natural Gas -9.3% to 3.39. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.328.
Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +0.5%. USD/JPY -0.08%. GBP/USD -0.46%. Bitcoin +0.9%. Litecoin +0.4%. Ethereum +3.4%. XRP +1.8%.
Top S&P 500 Gainers
NIKE (NKE) +22%. First Solar (FSLR) +19%. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) +16%. Carnival Corporation & plc (CCL) +14%. Wynn Resorts (WYNN) +14%.
Top S&P 500 Losers
Centene (CNC) -38%. Molina Healthcare (MOH) -18%. Expand Energy (EXE) -8%. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) -7%. Elevance Health (ELV) -7%.
Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.
