Investors in the coming week will seek clues about the likelihood of impending interest-rate hikes and early signs of a pivotal earnings season as they gauge the strength of the U.S. stock market's rally. The second half of 2026 kicked off this week much the same as the first half ended, with rocky performances of heavyweight technology shares swaying major indexes. Minutes from last month's eventful Federal Reserve meeting, as well as earnings from Delta Air Lines and PepsiCo, could provide new signposts for the market whose tech-fueled rally has wobbled in recent weeks.
Tech shares and especially semiconductors propelled the market's gains in the past few months, with the benchmark S&P 500 rising 14.9% in the second quarter that ended Tuesday, its best quarter since 2020. But more recently, that group has swung dramatically, including with steep declines to end this week. Other sectors have performed well over the past month such as healthcare, industrial and financial stocks, spurring investor hopes of a healthy rotation that leads market gains to broaden.
