US equities extended their record run Monday as the S&P 500 rose 0.19% to close at 7,412.84 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.10% to 26,274.13, both scoring fresh all-time intraday and closing highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 95 points (0.19%) to 49,704.47. All three indexes posted gains despite oil surging 3.5% after Trump rejected Iran's ceasefire proposal.
Semiconductors Lead the Charge
Chip stocks powered the advance. Intel rallied 4.2% on continued momentum from the Apple manufacturing deal. AMD gained 2.6%, Nvidia rose 3.1%, and Broadcom added 2.3%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) climbed 2.1% to its highest level since January. Wall Street's AI chip enthusiasm is broadening from Nvidia to the wider semiconductor ecosystem.
JPMorgan: AI Supercycle Just Starting
JPMorgan Private Bank said in its 2026 midyear outlook that the "AI supercycle may just be getting started" and called prevailing market sentiment "too pessimistic." The firm noted that enterprise AI adoption is only in early innings, with less than 5% of global companies having deployed AI at scale. This echoes Goldman Sachs, which cut US recession odds from 30% to 25% citing AI-driven productivity gains.
Breadth Improving
Market breadth continued to improve. Advancing stocks outnumbered decliners by 1.6-to-1 on the NYSE. The Russell 2000 small-cap index gained 0.4%, suggesting the rally is broadening beyond mega-cap tech. The equal-weighted S&P 500 has outperformed the cap-weighted version for three consecutive weeks — a healthy sign for market sustainability.
Oil Resistance
The market's ability to hit records despite Brent crude surging 3.5% to $104.51 is notable. Analysts attribute this to two factors: AI-driven sectors are relatively energy-independent, and markets have priced in the Hormuz blockade's worst-case scenario. Energy stocks rose 1.8%, providing a buffer as the sector benefits from high oil while the broader market looks past it.