The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed out their strongest quarter since 2020 on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq surging 1.5% to 26,213.72 and the S&P 500 adding 0.8% to 7,499.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.2% to 52,319.20, securing its best first half in five years. The session’s advance, concentrated in semiconductor and artificial-intelligence stocks, reversed a month-long slide that had left the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 1.1% and 2.8% respectively for June.

The rally drew force from a recovery in the so-called Magnificent Seven technology shares, with Apple, Tesla and Alphabet all gaining more than 1%. Analysts in New York attributed the rotation back into growth names to positioning ahead of the second-quarter earnings season and to easing crude-oil prices. West Texas Intermediate slipped 1% to $70.04 a barrel, and Brent fell 0.4% to $73.60, as markets assessed tentative diplomatic moves between Washington and Tehran. US envoys arrived in Doha for talks with Qatari mediators, though Iranian officials said no high-level meeting was scheduled, and weekend exchanges of fire tested a 17 June memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the four-month conflict.

Resilient US economic data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as soon as September. Job openings unexpectedly rose to 7.594 million in May, and consumer confidence edged higher in June. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack signalled she could support tighter policy if inflation persists, while traders priced a 65% probability of a rate increase by the autumn. The hawkish outlook propelled the dollar to a fresh four-decade high of ¥162.66, prompting Japan’s finance minister to repeat that Tokyo stands ready to act, though the verbal warnings did little to arrest the yen’s slide.

The focus now shifts to Thursday’s US employment report for June, which will either cement or challenge the rate-hike narrative. Base-metal markets also await the US Commerce Secretary’s assessment of refined copper imports, due imminently, while aluminium has already shed nearly 15% this month—its steepest drop since 2008—as fears of Middle Eastern supply disruptions recede.