Stock market news for June 26, 2025

The S&P 500 rose to within a whisker of a new record Thursday, the culmination of a stunning comeback from lows set in April as the benchmark overcame a wall of worries that included tariff fights, wars and sticky inflation.

The broad market index climbed 0.8% to close at 6,141.02, bringing its gain on the week to 2.9% and putting it just a few points away from the intraday all-time high hit in late February of 6,147.43. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.97% to 20,167.91, itself inches away from a new record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 404.41 points, or 0.94%, to 43,386.84.

Stocks rose to their highs of the session after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt played down the July tariff deal deadlines that have been looming over markets.

“The deadline is not critical,” said Leavitt. “Perhaps it could be extended, but that’s a decision for the president to make.”

July 8 is when the so-called liberation day tariffs are set to take effect after a 90-day pause, and July 9 is the deadline for an EU deal to avoid 50% tariffs.

Leavitt’s comments further validated a main reason behind the surprising comeback from the market’s low in April: That President Donald Trump would never actually implement those supersized “liberation day” tariffs, which he eventually pushed off after they sent the markets reeling.

Still-strong corporate earnings, a stable labor market and a rekindling of the artificial intelligence trade have also contributed to the turnaround for U.S equities. The S&P 500 is up more than 27% from its intraday low for the year after nearly closing in a bear market during the height of the tariff fears in April. After making the round trip, the benchmark is up more than 4% for 2025 so far, reclaiming some of the optimism about the economy and Trump policies that took it to a new high on Feb. 19.

“The markets are looking forward, seeing lower interest rates, less regulation in the banking sector, a shift from austerity to stimulus in Europe, and a less biting inflation and tariff environment,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. “This sure isn’t the stagflation story we’ve been told to brace for.”

Tech giants helped lift the broad market index on Thursday as they have during the comeback, with AI play Nvidia rising 0.5% to touch a fresh all-time high. Shares of Meta Platforms added more than 2%, while Alphabet climbed 1.7%.

Nvidia shares have skyrocketed nearly 80% since its April low after worries about Chinese competition and a slowing in AI spend proved misplaced. The tech-focused Nasdaq 100 surged to a new record earlier this week on the back of chip stock gains.

Geopolitical risk that stoked worry on Wall Street has also abated in recent days, with the initially fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran so far holding up. Trump said on Wednesday that a meeting between U.S. officials and Iran will likely happen next week. Oil prices have plummeted this week after an initial surge, easing concerns about inflation.

Investors received another sign that the economy remains on stable footing on Thursday. Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 21 pulled back to 236,000, which was below the 244,000 consensus estimate from Dow Jones.