Wall Street closes near record high as quarterly earnings season awaited

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Friday, July 10, 2026, 23:48 | 2 minutes read

The S&P 500 rose to close on Friday at a level very close to its all-time high, as the spectacular listing of South Korea's SK Hynix on the Nasdaq Composite boosted optimism in chip manufacturing companies at a time when investors are awaiting the quarterly earnings season that kicks off next week.

Trading in artificial intelligence stocks returned to the spotlight after SK Hynix shares opened trading up 14% from the offering price of $170 in a large listing on the US stock exchange.

The semiconductor company raised more than $26 billion on Thursday through the sale of American depositary receipts at $149 each.

US stocks added to gains after US President Donald Trump said that Iran had requested to continue talks and the United States agreed, but the ceasefire reached in June had "ended."

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The mutual attacks between the United States and Iran this week renewed fears that high energy prices could worsen inflation and force the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) to raise interest rates.

London Stock Exchange Group indicates that reports from major US banks will kick off the second-quarter earnings season next week.

Analysts expect S&P 500 earnings to rise by 24% compared to the same period last year, with technology companies driving a large part of that growth.

"This is a season with high standards and a tight margin of error," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "Banks will give us a good indicator of underlying economic strength and what consumers and businesses are doing."

Chip manufacturers are among the biggest beneficiaries of the AI-led rally this year, driven by expectations of massive spending by big tech companies.

However, concerns about high valuations and profit-taking have recently led to volatility in this sector.

Preliminary data showed the S&P 500 rose 0.38% to close at 7,572.36 points.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.25% to 26,273.21 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28% to 52,635.69 points.

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