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Stocks were rallying off their early lows in the first hour of July trading. The Dow was up 100 points, or 0.2%, and gaining steam. The S&P 500 was back near breakeven. The Nasdaq was down 0.3%. The Dow closed at a record on Tuesday, so any move higher would be a fresh milestone.
The S&P 500 is cruising on Tuesday, but the modest gain is hiding a lot of weakness in the market. The Dow was up 95 points, or 0.2%. The Dow was actually closer to the pulse of the market today: Only tech, industrials, and materials were rising in the S&P 500, while more than 300 stocks in the S&P were set to close lower.
The Dow finally closed above the 52,000 the same day its newest member joined a rally in Big Tech and chip stocks. Alphabet, which replaced Verizon in the Dow this week, led the index. “This month has been VERY volatile — some of the swings have been outright historic, and in the moment, honestly a bit unsettling,” writes Mizuho’s Daniel O’Regan.
The S&P 500 might do something it hasn’t done in at least the past year. While data on advancers-decliners in the S&P 500 is difficult to find, the folks at Dow Jones Market Data found that the S&P 500 has not risen 1% or more on a day when 210 or fewer stocks were rising.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq could snap their losing streaks, but it may come at the cost of some recent broadening. The S&P 500 was up 0.8%, but only 185 stocks in the index were rising. The Nasdaq was up 1.4%.
The case for owning the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) has always been simple: cheap, liquid, and the default proxy for U.S. equities. The problem in 2026 is that SPY no longer behaves like a diversified bet on 500 companies. Roughly a third of the cap-weighted index sits in a handful of Magnificent Seven ... Forget the Magnificent Seven. This Equal-Weight S&P Fund Beats the Mega-Caps for Just 0.20%
It’s been a great week for members of the S&P 500, but not the index itself. The index, which weighs all stocks in the traditional S&P 500 as if they were the same size, is up 1.1% this week. The S&P 500, which gives more weight based on market cap, is down 2.4%.
The Nasdaq was down 1%, while the Dow was down 206 points, or 0.4%. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, a proxy for breadth since it counts every single S&P 500 stock as if it had the same market capitalization, was rising. At the sector level, a rotation to health care, consumer staples, real estate, and utilities came at the expense of tech and industrials.
The stock market is leaving Big Tech stocks in the dust. The Dow surged 733 points, or 1.4%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The Nasdaq, which was up nearly 1% at the open, was down 0.6%. More than four-in-five S&P 500 stocks were set to close higher, but the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF dropped 2%.
Markets are currently digesting massive first half gains. That said, several market indicators suggest that the volatility and selling will be temporary.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) sells itself on one number: a 0.03% expense ratio. That’s the headline that hooks every “set it and forget it” investor. The sticker fee, however, is where the useful part of the cost conversation ends. What You’re Actually Paying VOO’s net and gross expense ratios both sit at 0.03% as ... VOO’s 0.03% Fee Hides a Costlier Truth About Taxes and Concentration
The Dow may be on track for a fresh closing high, but it’s still lagging behind the Nasdaq today. The blue-chip index was up 607 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq rose 3%. The S&P 500 rose 1.8%. The Nasdaq was on track for its second-best day of the year after the U.
Here’s the very first thing any newer investor should not just know, but truly understand, consider, and personalize, if they want to be successful.
A mega-IPO is about to land in a market already running hot, and one Wall Street strategist sees it as the catalyst that forces investors to broaden their bets. Carol Schleif, Chief Market Strategist at BMO Wealth Management, told CNBC this week that the SpaceX IPO on Friday will pull capital out of the year’s ... Wall Street Strategist: SpaceX Will Force a Major Stock Market Repositioning. Buy These Stocks Instead.
The choice between the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) looks trivial on a fund screener. You have the same 500 companies, both tracking the S&P 500, and both are cheap. The weighting scheme is the entire story, as SPY’s cap-weighted holdings allocate 7.58% of the ... RSP vs. SPY: Does Equal Weight Beat the Cap-Weighted S&P 500?
AI is driving markets higher, but a handful of stocks are doing most of the heavy lifting. These ETFs offer a more balanced way to play the trend.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) has been a quiet beneficiary of the 2026 rally, trading near $689 and up 10% year to date after a 31% twelve-month run. VOO remains the cheapest large-cap S&P 500 vehicle on the market at a 0.03% expense ratio, and for most investors it is the default core US ... VOO Investors: Watch These 2 Signals Before Summer
Smart Beta ETF report for RSP
The Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHG) closed at around $34, capping a roughly 25% gain over the trailing twelve months and a roughly 5% advance in the past month alone. That rally has occurred against an uncomfortable backdrop: the 10-year Treasury yield just touched nearly 4.7%, the highest reading in the past year. For ... The 10-Year Treasury Yield Approaching 5% Could Reshape SCHG’s Next 12 Months
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, which counts every S&P 500 stock as if they were the same size, is up just 2.7% this month. Instead, it’s been big gainers like Micron Technology, Intel, Sandisk, Advanced Micro Devices, and Dell Technologies that have helped lead the S&P 500.
<p>ETF.com's Comparison Tool logged nearly 97,000 user sessions over the past 28 days, revealing four dominant investor themes: semiconductor ETFs (led by the SMH vs. SOXX matchup with 2,478 users), large-cap growth ETF selection (SCHG, VUG, QQQM, and QQQ), nuclear and uranium energy, and momentum factor investing via SPMO. T-bill ETFs and core portfolio fundamentals round out the most-searched comparisons, painting a picture of a highly engaged, research-driven investor base thinking hard about
The S&P 500's high concentration risk underscores the role that the better-diversified Invesco Equal Weight ETF can play in conservative investors’ portfolios.
Style Box ETF report for RSP
A consequential threat to the market is quietly developing in fixed income.
The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:MGK) has 63 holdings, which sounds diversified until you check the weights. Five names carry almost 46% of the fund. The MGK pitch is straightforward exposure to U.S. mega-cap growth, and the math has worked. MGK returned 28% over the past year against 25% for the S&P 500. The ... MGK Holds 46 Percent in Just Five Stocks, And That Concentration Is Driving Most of Its Recent Gains
The AI trade continues to power markets, but rising concentration risks and volatile sentiment are making diversification increasingly important. Staying diversified with ETFs may be the smartest long-term move.
AI optimism and strong earnings are driving bullish S&P 500 targets as investors eye ETFs for long-term growth.
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