S&P 500 ends holiday week +1.8% on soft jobs; memory chips and Bitcoin miners slump
S&P 500 week close: 7,483 (+1.76%) Nasdaq week close: 25,833 (+2.12%) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P 500 rose 1.76% over the holiday-shortened week to 7,483 at Thursday's close on July 2, 2026, after a June jobs report showed hiring slowed to 57,000 and firmed the case for the Federal Reserve to hold rates. The biggest single-name move was Abivax (ABVX.US) at +48.4% on positive Phase 3 ulcerative colitis data, while a memory-chip selloff pulled Micron (MU.US) down 13.8%. The Dow closed at a record 52,900 as Treasury yields and the dollar eased, though small caps and semiconductors lagged the advance.
The week on Wall Street
The S&P 500 finished the week to July 2, 2026 at 7,483, up 1.76%, with US markets closed Friday July 3 for the observed Independence Day holiday. The Nasdaq added 2.12% to 25,833 and the Dow rose 1.97% to a record 52,900, while the small-cap Russell 2000 fell 0.46% to 2,996. Most of the gain came Monday through Wednesday; Thursday's June payrolls print then divided the market, sending the Dow up 1.14% to its record while the Nasdaq slipped 0.80% on a second day of chip selling.
Breadth was narrower than the index level suggests. The Russell 2000's 0.46% decline against a rising S&P 500 points to a large-cap and defensive-led advance, with participation thin outside the biggest names. The VIX fell 14.12% on the week to 15.81, its lowest reading in weeks, as the cooler jobs data eased rate worries and pushed the rate-sensitive 2-year Treasury yield lower.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
- Worst: Bitcoin miners fell a median near 22%, with RIOT.US -22.6%, CIFR.US -22.7%, and CORZ.US -21.2%, as Bitcoin slipped below $60,000.
- Also weak: memory and storage names dropped a median near 14%, including MU.US -13.8%, SNDK.US -16.5%, WDC.US -8.1%, and KXIAY.US -20.9%.
- Best: defensives led on Thursday, with utilities, health care, and consumer staples each rising more than 2%.
- Led higher: defense and satellite names, with AVAV.US +38.4%, VSAT.US +34.1%, and IRDM.US +23.5%.
The gap between the week's best single-name gainer (ABVX.US +48.4%) and its worst decliner (AEHR.US -23.8%) was about 72 percentage points, a wide dispersion for a week the index rose less than 2%.
Top movers, week ending Thursday July 2
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| ABVX.US | +48.4% | Positive Phase 3 obefazimod colitis data (Jun 29) strengthened a planned Q4 US filing. |
| AVAV.US | +38.4% | Record fiscal Q4: revenue $642 million, up 133%, EPS $1.84 beat estimates. |
| VSAT.US | +34.1% | Oppenheimer started coverage at Outperform after Rocket Lab's $8 billion Iridium deal. |
| AXON.US | +28.4% | A report tied a $220 million federal Taser procurement plan to its products. |
| TENB.US | +27.7% | Won FedRAMP High and IL5 clearance (Jun 30), opening Defense Department clients. |
| AEHR.US | -23.8% | Semiconductor test-equipment names sold off alongside the memory group. |
| CIFR.US | -22.7% | Bitcoin slid below $60,000; Bitcoin miners fell across the board. |
| RIOT.US | -22.6% | Same Bitcoin slide, with Strategy's first Bitcoin sale since 2022 denting sentiment. |
| CORZ.US | -21.2% | Bitcoin weakness plus doubts over its unsigned AI data-center pivot. |
| KXIAY.US | -20.9% | Kioxia fell 13% in Tokyo as the memory rally reversed. |
The final session before the holiday
Thursday July 2 was the week's last US session, and the June jobs report split the market. The Dow rose 1.14% to a record 52,900, the S&P 500 finished flat at 7,483, and the Nasdaq fell 0.80% to 25,833 as semiconductors extended a two-day decline. The VIX dropped 2.11% to 15.81.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 57,000 in June against expectations near 113,000, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% on a smaller labor force rather than stronger hiring. Payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower by a combined 74,000, and average hourly earnings rose 0.3% on the month. Treasury yields and the dollar slipped after the release, and Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 7% even after beating its second-quarter delivery estimate.
Macro themes that played out
The June payrolls miss was the week's driver. Hiring of 57,000 came in roughly half of consensus, and with the prior two months revised down 74,000, the reading firmed the case for the Fed to hold at its next meeting. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh urged markets to map rate policy from the data rather than central-bank guidance. Treasury yields slipped after the release, with the 10-year near 4.49% at Thursday's close, the dollar index fell 0.50% to 100.86, and WTI crude held near $67, close to levels that prevailed before the March conflict around the Strait of Hormuz.
Two group-level routs ran underneath the advance. Memory and storage stocks reversed a steep first-half run: Micron (MU.US) fell 13.8% in the week even after reporting fiscal Q3 revenue near $41 billion, up 346%, as a Morningstar call for a 20% to 30% decline and half-year fund rebalancing hit the group, and Korea's KOSPI fell about 8%. Bitcoin miners fell about 22% as Bitcoin slipped below $60,000 mid-week before a Thursday bounce toward $61,000, and Strategy (MSTR.US) disclosed its first Bitcoin sale since 2022, which pressured the group.
Week ahead, Mon to Fri (ET)
- Mon Jul 6: US markets reopen after the holiday; ISM services and the S&P Global final services PMI for June print at 9:45am and 10:00am ET.
- Tue Jul 7: May trade balance at 8:30am ET, with the prior gap near $56 billion.
- Wed Jul 8: June FOMC meeting minutes at 2:00pm ET, the week's marquee event for rate-path clues; consumer credit follows at 3:00pm.
- Thu Jul 9: Initial jobless claims at 8:30am ET (prior 215,000); PepsiCo (PEP.US) reports before the open.
- Fri Jul 10: Delta Air Lines (DAL.US) reports before the open, the unofficial start of Q2 earnings season.
June CPI is not due this week; it prints Tuesday July 14, alongside the first big-bank results from JPMorgan (JPM.US), Wells Fargo (WFC.US), Citigroup (C.US), and Goldman Sachs (GS.US).
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