US stocks head for strongest quarterly gain in years

Major Wall Street indexes remained on track Tuesday to close June with their strongest quarterly performance in years, highlighting the resilience of US equities despite ongoing geopolitical challenges.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are on course to post their best quarterly performances in six years, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is heading for its strongest quarterly gain since 2022.

“Investors still don’t see a clear end to this rally,” said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. “Every time the market experiences a pullback, it seems to create another buying opportunity.”

At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.72 points, or 0.01%, at 52,186.46.

The S&P 500 gained 24.96 points, or 0.34%, to 7,465.39, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 191.73 points, or 0.76%, to 26,011.87.

Despite the strong quarterly performance, recent weakness in large-cap technology stocks has left both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on track to end a two-month winning streak in June. The Dow, meanwhile, has outperformed and is poised to record its third consecutive monthly gain.

Some analysts expect the upcoming earnings season to provide fresh support for equities, particularly after last week’s sharp selloff in semiconductor and technology shares.

“The technology sector experienced a period of weakness during June, but that can easily reverse as earnings season approaches,” said Brian Levitt, global market strategist at Invesco.

Others, however, cautioned that sustaining significant gains during the second half of the year may require meaningful progress in efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Markets are currently pricing in at least one Federal Reserve interest rate hike by the end of 2026, according to data compiled by LSEG, marking a sharp shift from expectations at the start of the year, when investors were anticipating rate cuts.

Investors are also monitoring the latest job openings and consumer confidence data, while awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh during a major economic conference in Portugal later on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 real estate sector fell 1.7%, making it the weakest-performing sector of the day. Seven of the index’s 11 major sectors traded lower.

Concentrix shares plunged 20.7% to a record low after the customer experience services provider lowered its full-year revenue and adjusted earnings forecasts.

In contrast, AeroVironment shares surged 22% following stronger quarterly revenue results.

Morgan Stanley shares slipped 1% after brokerage firm Oppenheimer downgraded several major Wall Street investment banks and advised investors to shift capital toward alternative asset managers.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing issues by a ratio of 1.33-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange and 1.29-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

Neither the S&P 500 nor the Nasdaq Composite recorded any new 52-week highs or lows during the session.