Wall Street closed higher at record-high level on Monday to finish a turbulent first-half 2025. Expectations of U.S.-China trade deal and the Fed’s indication of interest rate cuts this year also boosted market participants’ confidence in risky assets like equities. The three major stock indexes ended positive territory. These indexes also closed strong in then last month and last quarter. However, these indexes performed soft in the first half of 2025.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) advanced 0.6% or 275.50 points to close at 44,0974.77. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up nearly 320 points. Notably, 22 components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory and 8 finished in negative zone. The index is 2.6% away from its all-time high recorded on Dec 4, 2024.

The major gainer of the index was The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS Quick QuoteGS - Free Report) . The stock price of the investment bank behemoth was up 2.5%. The Goldman Sachs currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 20,369.73, rising 0.5% due to strong performance of technology bigwigs. This was a new record-high closing for the index. In intraday trading, the tech-laden index also posted a new all-time high of 20,418.31.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5% to finish at 6,204.95, marking a new closing-high. In intraday trading, Wall Street’s most observed benchmark posted a new all-time high of 6,215.08. Eight out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in positive territory while three in negative zone.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) appreciated 1% while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) and the Energy Select Sector SPDR fell 0.6% each. 

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.5% to 16.73. A total of 17.12 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 18.23 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.2-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.1-to-1 ratio favored advancing issues.  

Expectations for Trade Deals

The Bloomberg News citing Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the framework of a trade deal between the United States and China has been reached. China also subscribed to this statement. Moreover, on Jun 29, Canada scrapped its digital services tax targeting U.S. tech giants.

Monthly Roundup

Last month was highly successful for Wall Street. The three major stock index – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – rallied 4%, 5% and 6%, respectively. Hope for major trade deals, ceasefire in Middle-East geopolitical conflicts and expectations of further interest rate cut in the second half of 2025 bolstered investors sentiments.

Quarterly Roundup

The second-quarter of 2025 was the best quarter for U.S. stocks over a year. Major stock index – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – surged 5%, 10.6% and 17.8%, respectively. In addition, the small-cap benchmark – the Russell 2000 – also advanced 8.3%. Expectations for key trade deals and evaporation of the fear of a near-term recession in the U.S. economy boosted market participants sentiments.

Half-Yearly Roundup

However, the half-yearly performance of U.S. stock markets was tepid. The three major stock index – the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite – were up 4%, 5.7% and 5.7%, respectively. This marked the weakest half-yearly performance of these indexes since 2022. 
Uncertainty about the Trump administration’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs on each and every nation, its impact on the U.S. inflation and growth rate, ambiguity of the Fed to cut interest rate further this year and intensifying geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East unnerved investors.