[New York Stock Exchange] S&P 500 and Nasdaq Hit Record Highs on Hopes for Imminent End to Conflict

Dow Closes Lower
International Oil Prices End Mixed
Micron Surges, Related Sectors Rise

On the 26th (local time), the three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed. As expectations for the end of the war persisted, buying momentum centered on technology stocks led both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indices to new all-time highs.

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 50,461.68, down 118.02 points (0.23%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500, which is centered on large-cap stocks, rose 45.65 points (0.61%) to 7,519.12, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 312.21 points (1.19%) to finish at 26,656.181.

New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA - Photo by Yoonju Hwang

Investor sentiment toward technology stocks drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices higher. Micron Technology's share price stood out, surging 19% on the back of optimistic forecasts from Wall Street analysts and surpassing a market capitalization of $1 trillion. In particular, UBS highlighted the advantages of long-term contracts and predicted that the stock still had room to rally by more than 100%. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) also jumped 15% to hit a record high, and Western Digital climbed 8%, according to CNBC.

Although the United States and Iran continued their last-minute standoff, expectations for an imminent end to the war remained intact. On the morning of the 26th, the U.S. Central Command announced that it had carried out a self-defense airstrike in southern Iran. Tim Hawkins, spokesperson for Central Command, explained, "We targeted Iranian vessels attempting to set up missile launchers and naval mines," adding, "The United States exercised restraint, abiding by the ongoing ceasefire agreement between the two countries."

International oil prices also ended mixed. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $93.89 per barrel, down 2.8% from the previous session. On the ICE Futures Exchange, July delivery Brent crude rose 3.6% to $99.58 per barrel.

Both oil and energy stocks closed lower. Exxon Mobil fell 3.34%, Chevron dropped 3.53%, Occidental Petroleum declined 1.80%, and Diamondback Energy slid 2.49%.

Ron Albahari, Chief Investment Officer at LNW, said, "Investors seem to be pathologically optimistic, believing that the war will end soon and everything will return to what it was before the conflict," adding, "They believe in a tsunami of capital expenditure that will drive up the market." He also noted, "The foundations of the U.S. economy remain relatively fragile," and said, "There is a high likelihood that inflation will develop into a systemic problem."

In fact, as international oil prices are trading higher than at the beginning of this year, inflationary pressures have increased, and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates have faded. According to CME Group's FedWatch, the probability of a rate hike in July is 11%. This is a significant jump from 0.9% last month.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields are falling. According to Investing.com, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped by 8.3 basis points (1 bp = 0.01 percentage point) from the previous session to 4.490%. The yield on the 30-year Treasury note declined by 5.5 basis points to 5.027%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.