The S&P 500 closed at a fresh high on Thursday as a semiconductor rally pushed Wall Street past worries over a paused US-Iran ceasefire. Chip stocks led the advance, while PepsiCo’s mixed results opened second-quarter earnings season and weak housing data kept Federal Reserve rate expectations in focus.
A rally in semiconductor and AI-linked stocks carried the S&P 500 up 0.81% to a fresh closing high of 7,543.64 on Thursday, as investors looked past a paused US-Iran ceasefire. The broad-market benchmark gained 60.93 points on 9 July 2026, leaving it near its 52-week high of 7,620.90.
Chip stocks drive the advance
The main catalyst was a broad rally across chip and chip-equipment names. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF climbed 2.5%, led by a 4.5% gain in Micron Technology. Storage maker Sandisk surged 7.6%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF advanced more than 5%.
The move came at the expense of the largest technology names, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF declining 0.6% even as the index rose. That rotation extended to software: high-valuation Palantir dropped roughly 4%, adding to a 29% year-to-date decline.
Earnings and housing data set the backdrop
PepsiCo unofficially opened second-quarter earnings season on Thursday morning. Its shares dipped roughly 3% despite 6% year-over-year sales growth, as the company flagged weaker US consumer spending tied to higher gasoline prices.
On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.4% in June to an annualised rate of 4.9 million units, against expectations for a 0.7% rise. Some strategists cautioned that current valuations may not fully price in the possibility of a Federal Reserve rate increase later in 2026, a scenario tied to a possible interest rate hike.
The rally echoed abroad, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 advancing 1.4% and China’s CSI 300 surging 2.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was the regional laggard, closing roughly 0.5% lower.
Source: BBN Times
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