Not entirely a convincing win. But it was still good enough for another record.
🏆 Dow Bags Another Milestone
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 156 points, or 0.3%, to close above 53,000 for the first time ever on Monday.
- It wasn't a runaway rally, but records don't ask how pretty they look — they just count the finish line.
- The broader market looked stronger. The S&P 500 gained 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.1%, as investors returned from the Independence Day weekend ready to put risk back on the table.
- Artificial intelligence remained the market's favorite theme. Chipmakers such as Intel and Micron led the advance, showing that despite recent volatility, traders haven't given up on AI just yet.
🤖 AI Faces a Big Test Week
- The AI trade now heads into a busy stretch. Samsung is set to release preliminary second-quarter earnings Tuesday, while SK Hynix is preparing for its blockbuster $29 billion US listing on Friday — one of the largest share sales ever.
- SpaceX after receiving fast-tracked inclusion.
- Index-tracking funds, which mirror the benchmark automatically, are expected to buy billions of dollars' worth of shares, though the stock slipped about 1% ahead of the event.
- It's mechanical buying — not necessarily a vote on valuation — but it can still move prices.
📈 Winners, Losers, and Bitcoin
- Dell surged more than 4% after President Donald Trump publicly encouraged consumers to buy the company's computers.
- Microsoft, however, slipped after announcing 4,800 job cuts in its Xbox division, while data-center names CoreWeave and Iren advanced.
- Strategy moved lower after revealing it sold 3,588 Bitcoin for about $216 million. The proceeds will help fund preferred-share dividends, interest payments, and share buybacks under the company's new capital-management plan.
- Bitcoin rebounded about 1.6% to $63,900 after briefly trading near $61,000.
- Looking ahead, futures were mixed early Tuesday: Dow futures edged up 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures slipped as traders caught their breath after another record-setting session.