US Stocks Close: Nasdaq Rises Over 2%, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Rises Over 3%; Tesla Rises Over 8%, Space Stocks, Tech Stocks Lead Gains

TradingKey - On Monday, June 29, Eastern Time, market sentiment rebounded as the U.S. and Iran returned to the negotiating table, driving all three major indexes higher, with space and technology stocks leading the gains.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59% to 52,182.74; the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 2.07% to 25,820.14; and the S&P 500 Index gained 1.18% to 7,440.43.

Tech stock performance

Tesla (TSLA) rose 8.46% to close at $411.84, with its share price returning above the $400 mark.

Market expectations point to second-quarter deliveries beating forecasts, with Morgan Stanley raising its estimate to 413,000 vehicles, primarily driven by recovering demand in the European and Chinese markets. Meanwhile, Elon Musk disclosed today on X that Grok 4.5, developed by xAI, is undergoing internal testing at SpaceX and Tesla. Musk stated that Grok 4.5's performance is close to, or potentially even surpasses, Anthropic's Claude Opus. However, he also acknowledged that the model is still being optimized, with reinforcement learning based on human feedback currently in progress. The accompanying "Grok Build" internal testing benchmark is also undergoing daily iterative updates.

Among mega-cap tech stocks, Tesla (TSLA) surged 8.46%, SpaceX (SPCX) rose 7.06%, TSMC (TSM) gained 5.26%, Google (GOOGL) rose 4.79%, Amazon (AMZN) climbed 3.20%, Meta Platforms (META) gained 2.24%, Broadcom (AVGO) advanced 2.04%, and Nvidia (NVDA) ticked up 1.27%. On the downside, Microsoft (MSFT) fell 1.18% and Apple (AAPL) slid 0.72%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.83% to close at 13,709.66 points. Among its 30 constituents, 25 advanced and 5 declined. Astera Labs (ALAB) surged 16.39%, KLA Corp (KLAC) jumped 11.97%, Applied Materials (AMAT) surged 10.82%, and Lam Research (LRCX) climbed 8.39%.

Space stocks rallied, with Iridium (IRDM) surging 25.44%, Viasat (VSAT) jumping 23.79%, AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) climbing 21.44%, Rocket Lab (RKLB) rising 15.93%, Planet Labs PBC (PL) gaining 15.48%, and SpaceX (SPCX) up 7.15%.

Among US-listed Chinese stocks, gainers outnumbered losers. Baidu (BIDU) rose 7.64%, Hesai (HSAI) gained 6.49%, XPeng (XPEV) climbed 5.87%, and MINISO (MNSO) advanced 4.82%.

Corporate News

Alphabet Officially Added to Dow Jones Industrial Average

Google parent Alphabet was officially added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Monday, formally replacing telecom operator Verizon as one of the 30 blue-chip components, and immediately becoming one of the most influential components in the index upon its inclusion. Following this adjustment, five of the US stock market's "Magnificent Seven" tech giants are now listed on the Dow: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and Alphabet.

Comcast Launches Spinoff, Splitting NBCUniversal and Sky into Independent Media Entity

Comcast officially announced its spinoff plan, splitting NBCUniversal and Sky into an independent entertainment and media company, while the remaining entity will focus on its core broadband and wireless communications businesses. Following the split, the two segments will independently formulate strategies and allocate capital to suit their respective business growth models. The spun-off media entity will cover the entire spectrum of content production and location-based entertainment, including broadcast networks, film and television production, streaming platforms, and theme parks. The remaining Comcast entity will anchor its core telecom business, operating consumer broadband, wireless services, and enterprise business solutions.

Super Micro Computer Offices Searched in Taiwan Over Alleged Illegal Nvidia Chip Smuggling to Mainland China

Super Micro Computer's offices in Taiwan were raided by government authorities on Monday, broadening an investigation into allegations that the company smuggled Nvidia chips into mainland China via its server products, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors simultaneously searched the residences of six individuals and three affiliated companies to verify whether Super Micro illegally exported high-end Nvidia chips to mainland China by concealing them within fully assembled servers.

Rocket Lab to Acquire Iridium for $8 Billion

Rocket Lab announced on Monday that it will acquire Iridium in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at approximately $8 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Iridium shareholders will receive $27 per share in cash plus Rocket Lab stock, representing a total consideration of approximately $54 per share. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2027.

Industry & Macro News

U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Trump from Firing Fed Governor Cook

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a decisive ruling on the dismissal of a Federal Reserve official, rejecting President Trump's motion to fire Governor Cook in a 5-4 vote. The ruling made clear that monetary policy is free from political interference, and that the president cannot dismiss a Fed governor without prior notice, an opportunity to defend themselves, and concrete evidence of misconduct, further reinforcing the Federal Reserve's independence from a judicial standpoint.

Goldman Sachs: AI Investment Boom Coupled with Excess Energy Profits Sets Stage for Another Strong U.S. Earnings Season

Goldman Sachs said that the dual drivers of the AI investment boom and rising oil prices will sustain the strong growth momentum of U.S. stocks in the second quarter. The current market consensus expects S&P 500 second-quarter earnings to increase by 22% year-over-year, with a high likelihood of companies meeting expectations overall. Since the current rally is entirely driven by the earnings side, this earnings season will be a critical juncture to verify the sustainability of the market's run.

A high concentration of earnings growth is the defining feature of this earnings season. The AI infrastructure sector is the primary growth driver, projected to contribute nearly 60% of the year-over-year growth in S&P 500 earnings per share, with Nvidia and Micron alone accounting for more than 40%. The market's focus has shifted from the AI capital expenditure of mega-cap tech giants to whether broader industrial AI investments can bear fruit and translate into actual earnings. Meanwhile, the energy sector serves as a second growth engine, where rising oil prices have significantly boosted profits for oil and gas companies while transmitting cost pressures downstream to consumer businesses.

U.S. IPO and Equity Issuance Reaches $251 Billion in First Half of the Year

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, the volume of U.S. IPOs and equity offerings hit a historic high in the first half of 2026, with total fundraising reaching $251 billion, driven in large part by SpaceX's record-breaking listing. Morgan Stanley expects the market to see an even stronger IPO pipeline in the third quarter. The consensus is that AI capital expenditures and elevated tech valuations are jointly sustaining this IPO boom cycle.

Trump Announces New Round of U.S.-Iran Talks to Be Held in Doha on Tuesday

U.S. President Trump confirmed on social media that, at Iran's proposal, the two sides will initiate a new round of high-level talks in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday. The U.S. delegation will be led by Peace Envoy Witkoff and Kushner, accompanied by parallel technical negotiations. Over the weekend, a series of retaliatory strikes between the U.S. and Iran had threatened to derail the ceasefire talks. At present, a temporary ceasefire has been restored, and shipping in the Strait of Hormuz is gradually returning to normal.

Lagarde Says ECB's June Rate Hike Was Not a Preemptive Move

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated that the ECB's 25-basis-point rate hike in June was not a "preemptive hike" to ward off future inflation risks, but rather a "robust decision" based on the economic and inflation outlook at the time. She noted that without the hike, inflation would have remained above the 2% target in 2027 and 2028, adding that new developments since the June meeting, including falling oil prices, have not changed the ECB's assessment at that time.