US Markets Soar in Q2 Despite Geopolitical Uncertainty
The US stock market posted strong gains in the second quarter of 2026, despite geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the US-Iran war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.9%, while the S&P 500 jumped 14.87% and the Nasdaq Composite surged 21.41%. This performance marks one of the strongest quarterly returns for these indexes in six years, according to economist Mohamed A. El-Erian.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index also saw significant gains, climbing 21.86% in the quarter to post its best first-half performance in two and a half decades. Technology stocks and AI-related trades drove much of this growth, although sentiment turned more cautious towards the end of June following hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.
On Tuesday, markets edged higher, buoyed by continued strength in chip stocks and technology shares. Nvidia Corp. rose over 2.6%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rallied more than 7% and Intel Corp. gained 6%. However, Nike Inc. saw its shares fall over 3% after the company reported a decline in China sales.