Finance

While traditional blue-chip stocks thrived, the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 faced significant headwinds from a sharp selloff in the semiconductor industry. Major chipmakers like Micron, Applied Materials, and Nvidia experienced steep declines as investors questioned if artificial intelligence valuations had become overextended.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew by only 57,000 in June 2026, falling well short of economist expectations for 100,000 to 115,000 new jobs. This cooling in labor demand led to a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.2% and prompted markets to price in a higher probability that the Federal Reserve will pause further rate hikes.

Bitcoin and Ethereum saw positive price action in early July, with Bitcoin testing the $62,000 level following the softer-than-expected labor market report. The shift in macroeconomic sentiment provided a boost to digital assets, although the market remains cautious due to ongoing competition from high-growth equity sectors.