Investing.com — U.S. stocks on Tuesday gained in the final trading session of the second quarter and the first half of the year, helped by strong labor market data and a continued rebound in the technology sector.
Some volatility can be expected as market participants reposition their portfolios at the end of a period marked by geopolitical strife and questions around the trajectory of massive spending on artificial intelligence.
At 11:57 ET (15:57 GMT), the S&P 500 index was up 0.6% to 7,482.00 points, the tech-heavy added 1.1% to 26,112.18 points, and the blue-chip was up 0.2% to 52,309.86 points.
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings in May were 7.594 million, higher than the expected figure of 7.296 million and above April’s revised 7.585 million reading.
On Monday, equities on Wall Street climbed thanks largely to a rebound in technology stocks after jitters around the sustainability of soaring expenditures on AI chips and data centers weighed on the sector last week.
Traders were also taking some relief from a Supreme Court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations.
Much of the focus this week is on key payrolls data, which could provide more cues on the economy and interest rates. The report is set to be released on Thursday, prior to the closure of U.S. markets for the Independence Day holiday on Friday.
S&P, Nasdaq on track for quarterly gains
The S&P 500 in particular snapped a five-session losing streak in the prior session. With one day left in the second quarter, the benchmark index is on track for its best quarterly performance since a recovery from a pandemic-era downturn six years ago. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, is on track for a 20% quarterly gain — its largest quarterly rally since the second quarter of 2020.
Year to date, the S&P 500 has ticked up by around 8.5% and the Nasdaq has surged 11.1%.
Volatility has been a hallmark of the last three months, with global stocks swaying in part to shifting sentiment around AI and the rapid construction of the infrastructure which underpins the nascent technology.
“The AI narrative at the moment is focused on hyperscalers versus pick-and-shovel providers. For the last few months, investors have followed the cash flow, crowding into the latter stocks at the expense of the former, although some are beginning to wonder whether the trade has become too extreme,” analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note.
At the same time, markets were impacted by a constant drumbeat of developments in the joint U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran. A framework memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran was signed earlier this month, relieving some tensions in the Middle East but leaving major sticking points unresolved for now.
Oil prices currently sit not far from levels before the start of the conflict in late February, but an inflationary wave from a sharp spike in the months following the outbreak of the fighting could still be working its way through the global economy, analysts and policymakers have flagged.
Against this backdrop, the Federal Reserve, which was thought at the beginning of 2026 to be on the cusp of an interest rate reduction cycle, is now expected to lift borrowing costs before the end of the year. U.S. government bond yields, which tend to move inversely to prices, have subsequently risen.
Currently, traders are wading through conflicting signals on the critical status of the Strait of Hormuz. The White House has suggested that the strait, a vital waterway for a fifth of the world’s oil which has been effectively closed to tanker traffic by Iran, is now reopen. However, Tehran has demanded it retain some control over the conduit.
The U.S. and Iran exchanged tit-for-tat strikes in the strait in recent days over the issue, although the attacks in the strait appear to have dissipated, according to media reports.
Technical discussions between the U.S. and Iran are set to resume in Qatar on Tuesday, Pakistan has said, even as uncertainty swirls around when high-level negotiations will restart. Trump has said that American officials will meet with Iranian counterparts today in the Qatari capital of Doha. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is en route to the Gulf country, according to CNN.
In individual stocks, shares of dropped after Michael Saylor’s -purchasing business scrapped its policy of never selling the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Meanwhile, investors seemed to once again take a shine to companies exposed to the AI infrastructure buildout. , Sandisk, and all rose.
On the earnings front, sporting apparel retailer is slated to unveil its quarterly returns after the close of U.S. markets.
Ambar Warrick and Scott Kanowsky contributed to this article