Dow rises 100 points to cap strongest first half in five years; Nasdaq records best quarter since 2020

Stocks closed higher on Tuesday, led by a strong rally in semiconductor stocks, as Wall Street wrapped up both the second quarter and the first half of the year on a strong note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 136.46 points (+0.26%) to finish at a record 52,319.20. The S&P 500 rose 0.79% to 7,499.36, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.52% to close at 26,213.72.

Chip stocks led the market higher, with Nvidia rising 2.6%, Advanced Micro Devices surging 7.7%, and Intel gaining 6%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) advanced more than 3%, pushing its year-to-date gain to 82%.

Tuesday marked the final trading session of both the first half and second quarter of the year.

For the first half of the year, the Dow gained 8.9%, marking its strongest first-half performance since 2021. The S&P 500 rose 9.6%, while the Nasdaq outperformed with a gain of more than 12%. The Russell 2000 jumped nearly 22%, delivering its best first-half performance since 1991.

Markets faced notable volatility earlier in the year, driven by sharp energy price swings linked to the Iran conflict and concerns over the sustainability of AI-related spending. Despite this, major indexes continued reaching record highs.

The second quarter proved particularly strong as concerns surrounding the AI trade eased and geopolitical tensions showed signs of cooling.

In Q2, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged 14.9% and 21.4%, respectively — their strongest quarterly gains since Q2 2020. The Dow rose 12.9%, marking its best quarter since Q4 2022.

Market sentiment remains positive, and barring any renewed escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, analysts expect the broader bull market to continue expanding into the second half of the year.