The three major US stock indexes recorded gains at the opening of trading today, Thursday, June 26, benefiting from increased risk appetite, easing concerns about the conflict in the Middle East, and rising expectations of a deeper US interest rate cut after reports indicated that US President Trump may nominate a new Federal Reserve chair. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are only about 1% away from their highs.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump may announce Jerome Powell’s replacement by September or October, as Powell’s term is expected to end in May of next year. This report raised expectations for a faster rate cut during the remainder of the year. Markets are now pricing in more than 63 basis points of a cut, compared to 51 points at the beginning of the week. Market expectations, according to the CME FedWatch tool, for July are now higher, with a 25 basis point cut to 24%, after falling short of expectations, which provides support for US stocks. In terms of stock movements, Nvidia’s stock hit new record highs today, trading at $154.31, bringing the company’s market capitalization to $3.7 trillion, surpassing Microsoft and once again leading the list of companies with the highest market capitalization, reaching $1.4 trillion from its lowest closing level since April 2025.
All sectors of the S&P 500 index rose today, with the exception of the real estate sector. Healthcare led the index’s gains, rising by about 0.84%. Technology goods rose by 0.42%, the financial sector rose by 0.29%, the energy sector rose by 0.35%, the industrial sector rose by 0.65%, and the utilities sector rose by 0.52%.
In terms of economic data, US gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.5% in the first quarter of this year, ending in March, according to the third and final estimate, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis report released today, compared to a 0.2% decline in the second estimate. New orders for durable goods rose $48.3 billion, or 16.4%, to $343.6 billion in May, according to a report from the U.S. Census Bureau released today. This compares to a 6.6% decline in April, exceeding market expectations of an 8.6% increase. Initial jobless claims fell 10,000 to 236,000 in the week ending June 21, bringing the four-week average down 750 claims to 245,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) is trading up by about (207) points at 43,190, with gains of about 0.48%, while the S&P 500 Index (S&P500) is recording gains of 23 points at 6,115, with a rise of about 0.39%, approaching the peak recorded at 6,145, and the Nasdaq Index (Nasdaq) is rising by (20 points) at 19,994, recording gains of about 0.10%.