Good evening and welcome to Markets Desk, your closing bell rundown for July sixth.
Equities finished the session on firm footing, with semiconductor momentum carrying the Nasdaq Composite up one point one two percent to close at twenty six thousand one hundred twenty one. The S&P five hundred added nearly three quarters of a percent, settling at seven thousand five hundred thirty seven, while the Dow crossed above fifty three thousand for the first time, closing at fifty three thousand fifty five. Chip strength was the clear engine of the day's gains.
Shifting to the macro backdrop, President Trump announced Monday that Walmart has agreed to lower prices on select products, citing a White House request tied to the country's two hundred fiftieth anniversary. Trump said ground beef prices would fall by nearly fifteen percent, though no timeline or full product list was disclosed. Markets will be watching whether other major retailers follow suit.
And a sobering note outside the markets, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has now claimed more than five hundred lives across over fifteen hundred confirmed cases. Public health experts are pointing directly at cuts to international aid, arguing that reduced resources have hampered containment efforts at a critical moment. The humanitarian toll continues to rise.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
