Stocks finished the first half of the year on a high note, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching record highs. The latter also marked a sixth-straight gain, while the Dow jumped 275 points for its third consecutive win, breaking above the psychologically significant 44,000 level for the first time since February.

All three major indexes finished higher for the month and quarter as well. Notably, the Dow logged its best month since January, the S&P 500 scored its largest quarterly percentage gain since December 2023, and the Nasdaq secured its biggest quarterly win since June 2020. 

GOLD RISES FOR 2ND QUARTER

Oil prices slipped on Monday, fresh off their worst weekly pullback since March 2023. August-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 41 cents, or 0.63%, to settle at $65.11 a barrel. Oil finished June with a 3.2% monthly rise, but dropped around 8% for the quarter. 

On the back of a weakening U.S. dollar, gold futures were last seen 0.9% higher at $3,317,60. Bullion slipped 2.5% in the month of June, but still posted a second consecutive quarterly rise, up 5.1%.

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