US sharemarkets rallied on Monday, led by a rebound in technology stocks, as investors welcomed signs of easing tensions in the Middle East and positioned for the end of the June quarter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 306.63 points, or 0.59%, to close above 52,000 for the first time at 52,182.74. The S&P 500 gained 1.18% to 7,440.43, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.07% to 25,820.14.
Technology stocks drove the advance. Alphabet rose nearly 5% on its first day as a Dow component, while semiconductor shares rebounded strongly after recent weakness. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF gained more than 3%, with Astera Labs jumping about 16%, KLA rising roughly 12% and Applied Materials adding almost 11%.
Elsewhere, Comcast gained 4.4% after announcing plans to separate its media and technology businesses into two listed companies over the next year.
Markets also looked ahead to a shortened trading week ahead of Friday’s Independence Day holiday, with quarter-end portfolio positioning contributing to trading activity.
Oil and Macro
Oil prices moved higher as investors assessed the durability of a temporary pause in hostilities between the US and Iran.
Brent crude rose 1.61% to settle at US$73.15 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.2% to US$70.75.
The latest move followed an agreement between the US and Iran to pause hostilities and allow commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, although uncertainty remains after further US strikes on Iranian military targets over the weekend.
Australian Market Outlook
Australian shares are expected to edge higher after a strong lead from Wall Street, with technology stocks rebounding ahead of the end of the June quarter.
S&P/ASX 200 futures are up 3 points, or 0.03%, to 8,825.
Investor attention today will focus on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s June meeting minutes, due at 11.30am AEST, for further insight into the central bank’s policy outlook.
Overseas, markets will monitor economic releases including Japan’s May employment data, New Zealand business confidence, China’s June manufacturing figures and US consumer confidence and JOLTS job openings, which begin a closely watched week of US labour market data.
