The S&P 500 came tantalizingly close to both an intraday and closing record but ultimately got neither, closing up 0.8%. The Nasdaq 100 gained about 1% while the Russell 2000 bounced back with a strong 1.7% advance.
Both monetary and trade policy appear to be evolving in a favorable direction for stocks: traders are pricing in over 65 basis points of easing by the Federal Reserve through year-end (versus about 50 basis points for most of the past month or so), and the White House said its July 9 deadline before reciprocal tariffs would be ramped up wasn’t really a hard deadline.
Most S&P 500 sector ETFs rose, with consumer staples and real estate the exceptions. Energy, communication services, industrials, and materials all gained 1%.
Enphase Energy led gains on the day, up nearly 13% on reports that Congress may not slash federal tax incentives for residential rooftop solar installations. Data center company Equinix was the worst performer, down about 10%. Meanwhile...
