Nasdaq leads Wall Street higher, Dow Jones notches new record as second quarter ends

4:15pm: Best quarter since 2020

Wall Street has wrapped up its best quarter since 2020, with the Dow Jones adding another 0.3% on Friday to close at a fresh record of 52,319 points. The Nasdaq was up 1.5% at 26,213 points and the S&P 500 was up 0.8% at 7,499 points.

3:30pm: Proactive news headlines

• Trillion Energy International Inc. (CSE:TCF, OTCQB:TRLEF) announced on Tuesday that it has completed a technical field scouting program across its M47 exploration licence in southeastern Türkiye as it prepares for a planned geophysical data acquisition campaign during the 2026 field season.

• 374Water Inc (NASDAQ:SCWO) has completed the first phase of a pilot deployment of its mobile AirSCWO waste treatment system in St. Cloud, Minnesota, as the cleantech company continues to evaluate its technology for the destruction of PFAS-containing waste streams.

• Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF) has reported results from metallurgical test work at its Philadelphia gold-silver project in Mohave County, Arizona, highlighting strong gold recoveries from both agitation leach and heap leach cyanidation testing.

2:30pm: Market movers

• Intrusion, Inc. (NASDAQ:INTX) shares jumped 41% on Tuesday following the company’s announcement that it has completed the acquisition of cybersecurity managed security service provider VigilAigent from Tego Cyber, a deal expected to immediately expand revenue and commercial reach.

• Abivax SA (NASDAQ:ABVX, EPA:ABVX) (Abivax SA (NASDAQ:ABVX, EPA:ABVX) shares surged more than 40% on Tuesday after the French biotech released updated safety data from its late-stage ulcerative colitis program for its investigational drug obefazimod, easing earlier market concerns around reported cancer cases in the study.

• AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) shares surged about 15% in early trading following the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results, as investors reacted to stronger-than-expected revenue and earnings, alongside a sharply higher backlog and upbeat defense demand outlook.

12:25pm: Gold retreats

As the month comes to an end, gold hovers just above $4,000 per ounce, down this year amid elevated Fed rate hike expectations and a strengthening US dollar.

“Gold is on track for its eighth straight week and fourth consecutive month of falling prices amid a hawkish Fed and appreciating greenback, dropping by close to 30% from its January peak,” IG chief technical analyst Axel Rudolph said.

“Meanwhile the Yen sinks to a 40-year low – increasing the risk of Bank of Japan currency intervention – while the S&P 500 looks to be on track for its best quarter in six years amid the ongoing AI and chip boom while crude suffers its worst quarterly decline since 2020.”

11:01am: UK eyes media merger

The UK government has indicated it could intervene in Paramount-Skydance’s proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, adding another layer of regulatory scrutiny to the media merger.

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said Tuesday she is “minded to intervene” in the transaction, citing concerns over media plurality and the concentration of ownership in the news sector.

“Following engagement with the parties and independent research, my department has today written to the current and proposed owners of Warner Bros Discovery on my behalf to inform them that I am minded to intervene,” Nandy said in a statement.

She added that any potential intervention would be based on public interest considerations, including ensuring “a sufficient plurality of views in news media” and “a sufficient plurality of persons with control of the media enterprises.” Nandy noted she has not yet made a final decision, and the companies have been given a week to respond.

If the government proceeds, UK media regulator Ofcom would conduct a public interest assessment alongside an ongoing review by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is examining the deal’s potential impact on competition. The CMA is expected to announce the next steps in its investigation in early August.

Paramount-Skydance said it remains confident the transaction does not raise media plurality concerns in the UK.

10:02am: Semiconductors lead Wall Street higher at open

Wall Street stocks have opened higher, with the Nasdaq out in front as chip stocks return to the front.

The Nasdaq has climbed 0.5% in the opening half hour of trading, with the Dow is up 0.1% to 52,229, while the S&P 500 is in the middle, having added 0.3%.

The early leaderboard is heavily semiconductor-weighted, with SanDisk up 5.8%, then a line looking like Monolithic Power, AMD, Lam Research and KLA all up 3% or more, while ASML, Intel and NVIDIA are also up 2-1% as part of broader tech demand.

On the Dow, gains led by Caterpillar, Boeing and Apple are being partly cancelled out by losses for Verizon, Disney, P&G and IBM.

8:15am: Nasdaq chip stocks expected to lead further rebound

US stocks have been predicted to extend their recovery on Tuesday, as investors approach the final session of a second quarter that has delivered a strong rebound for many risk assets.

Futures pointed to a slightly firmer open, with S&P 500 futures up 0.1%, Nasdaq futures up 0.35% and Dow Jones futures only just above flat. 

Yesterday, Wall Street ended a five-day losing run, with the Dow Jones rising 0.6% to close above 52,000 for the first time at 52,182. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.1% to 25,820, while the S&P 500 climbed 1.2% to 7,440.

The quarter has been defined by a renewed rush into chip stocks, but out of tech megacaps, a stronger dollar, sharp moves in commodities and shifting expectations for the Federal Reserve.

In June, the Magnificent Seven hyperscalers have dropped around 10%, down nearly 15% from May’s peak, with Alphabet and Amazon down 17% and 19% since the May peak, Microsoft losing more than a third of its valuation since last October and Meta down nearly 30% since last August.

However, the S&P is on the verge of its best quarterly performance in six years, since the index bounced back sharply from the initial pandemic slump. 

Kathleen Brooks at XTB said the period was “ending on a high note”, with the Philadelphia semiconductor index up 88% over the quarter and the Nasdaq ahead 22.5%.

“The AI trade is still robust, even if it has splintered in recent months, with the chip makers surging and the hyperscalers struggling,” she said.

Kenny Polcari at SlateStone Wealth said recent weakness was “not a funeral for AI”, but rather quarter-end rebalancing as institutions harvested gains and rotated capital.

“Today is the final trading day of the quarter, which means the quarter-end window dressing is essentially over,” he said.

“The rebalancing by pension funds, institutional asset managers and sovereign wealth funds … is just about complete.”

Tuesday’s data calendar includes the Conference Board consumer confidence index and JOLTS job openings, ahead of Thursday’s non-farm payrolls report, with US markets closed on Friday.

Donald Trump says the peace talks will resume in Doha today, though Iranian officials say they will not.

In company news, mid-turnaround sportswear colossus Nike reports earnings after the close, along with Corona and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands.