Finance

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a fresh record of 52,900 points, driven by significant gains in industrial and value stocks like Apple and Lockheed Martin. Conversely, the Nasdaq Composite retreated as a sharp sell-off in the semiconductor sector weighed on technology benchmarks, while the S&P 500 remained virtually unchanged.

June's non-farm payrolls report showed the U.S. economy added only 57,000 jobs, falling significantly short of the 110,000 to 115,000 positions anticipated by economists. This slowdown in hiring, combined with a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.2% primarily due to worker disengagement, has led market participants to reduce expectations for immediate interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Despite a strong first half of the year, major chipmakers like Micron and Marvell Technology experienced substantial losses this week as investors questioned the sustainability of massive AI infrastructure spending. Concerns regarding high-bandwidth memory production and a more cautious stance from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh have contributed to a broader pullback in the semiconductor index.