Live Markets: Wall Street rises on rate hopes, earnings boost

Microchip Technology

07/08/2026 21:31

Main U.S. indexes rise, Nasdaq out front, finishing up 1.3%
Materials, cons disc lead S&P 500 sector gainers; energy is weakest group
Dollar falls; U.S. crude settles up but then falls; bitcoin gains ~1%; gold rallies >2%
U.S. 10-year Treasury yield dips to ~4.65%
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WALL STREET RISES ON RATE HOPES, EARNINGS BOOST
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher on Friday as investors opted to view July's weak labor market report as good news since it may give the Federal Reserve some reasons to keep rates steady in September.
There were also some boosts from earnings reports with Airbnb ABNB.O and Microchip Technology MCHP.O the leading percentage gainers in the S&P 500 .SPX on Friday. In all, second-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are now expected to be up 32.7% on an adjusted basis, compared with 29.3% according to the latest data from LSEG, which included reported results and analyst estimates for companies that have yet to report this quarter. 
The benchmark index bookended the week with records as it marked record closes both on Monday and on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC ended the day less than 1.5% below its June 2 record close. The Dow .DJI advanced on the day, but didn't add to the three-in-a-row record closes from the start of the week.  
S&P 500 Growth .IGX marked a record closing high on Friday after flirting with the milestone for four days. And showing some investor appetite for diversification, the S&P 500 Value .IVX and S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index .MID both registered record closes, adding to their Tuesday records.
     For the week, the benchmark S&P 500 added 3.58%, marking its strongest weekly advance since mid-April just like the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which showed a weekly advance of 5.19%. The Dow added 2.96% for the week.
Speaking of weekly milestones, the S&P 500 Financials Index .SPSY registered its 10th weekly advance in a row, which is the longest weekly winning streak in its data history based on LSEG data going back to September 1989. (The index also scored a nine-week advance that ended in January 2004).    
SPSY added 11.8% over the last 10 weeks, and last had a stronger percentage advance on a 10-week rolling basis in June 2025. 
Back to Friday. Of the benchmark index's 11 major industry sectors, only three lost ground with energy .SPNY leading losses and finishing down 1.16%. This was even after oil settled up more than 1% as traders assessed a pending agreement between Iran and Oman that would set rules for transit of the Strait of Hormuz.
Materials .SPLRCM was the fastest-gaining sector, up 1.52%, followed by consumer discretionary .SPLRCD, up 1.34% and technology .SPLRCT, up 1.25%. 
Here is your closing snapshot: 
     
(Sinéad Carew, Terence Gabriel)
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EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:
LOW CASH, HIGH STOCK EXPOSURE: RETAIL INVESTORS STAY COMMITTED - AAII CLICK HERE
SOFTWARE: WILL ODYSSEUS MAKE IT BACK TO ITHACA? CLICK HERE
US EQUITIES RISE WITH FOCUS ON RATES AS JOB MARKET WEAKENS CLICK HERE
WARSH'S PUSH FOR A QUIETER FED DRAWS WARNINGS FROM SOME WALL STREET STRATEGISTS CLICK HERE
S&P 500 FUTURES STRENGTHEN, YIELDS SLIDE AFTER JOBS DATA CLICK HERE
LATEST YEN INTERVENTION FORMAT BURNISHES DOLLAR'S STATUS, SAYS GOLDMAN CLICK HERE
EUROPE INC POWERS PAST LOFTY Q2 PROFIT EXPECTATIONS CLICK HERE
STOXX HEADS FOR DECENT WEEKLY RISE CLICK HERE 
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: CAUTIOUS START BEFORE PAYROLLS, OIL RISES CLICK HERE
HOPING FOR A CLEAN AND TIDY JOBS REPORT CLICK HERE
      

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