The New York stock market continued its upward trend for the second day on Tuesday.
Expectations that the ceasefire between Israel and Iran would hold were high, even as U.S. President Donald Trump strongly criticized the ongoing clashes, particularly Israel’s attacks, and pressured both sides to stop fighting.
Israel declared that its military operations were not yet over but announced a return to daily life, while Iran emphasized its willingness to engage in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in accordance with international law.
Dow Surpasses 43,000
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, composed of 30 large-cap stocks, rebounded above the 43,000 mark after three consecutive days of gains since June 20.
The Dow rose by 507.24 points (1.19%) to 43,089.02.
However, the gains were less than those of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 closed up 67.01 points (1.11%) at 6,092.18, while the Nasdaq surged 281.56 points (1.43%) to 19,912.53.
The Nasdaq is now on the verge of reclaiming the 20,000 mark, which it fell below on February 20.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street’s fear gauge, plummeted nearly 12%. VIX dropped 2.35 points (11.85%) to 17.48, which indicates a significant stabilization in investor sentiment.
Nvidia Soars, Tesla Declines
Nvidia and Tesla experienced contrasting fortunes.
Although Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang sold shares for the first time this year, the stock rebounded in the latter half of the day.
Despite an insider CEO selling shares, it did not unsettle investor sentiment as the sale was part of a pre-arranged plan designed to prevent insider trading.
Huang sold 100,000 shares of Nvidia on June 20 and Monday as part of a pre-arranged plan, securing a total of 14.4 million USD at an average sale price of 144.04 USD. He still holds 75.7 million shares.
Despite the CEO’s stock sale, Nvidia rose by 3.73 USD (2.59%) to 147.90 USD.
In contrast, Tesla, which surged 8% the previous day due to the launch of its robotaxi service, fell over 2% on this day.
Concerns about robotaxi regulations increased as videos circulated showing the robotaxi exceeding speed limits and crossing the center line into oncoming traffic.
Following the previous day’s surge, profit-taking sales and negative news about robotaxi incidents led Tesla to decline by 8.21 USD (2.35%) to 340.47 USD.
Defense Stocks Decline
Defense stocks, which had risen amid the conflict between Iran and Israel, faced setbacks as both sides agreed to a ceasefire.
Northrop Grumman plummeted by 15.67 USD (3.14%) to 484.00 USD, and RTX (formerly Raytheon) fell by 3.96 USD (2.72%) to 141.85 USD.
Lockheed Martin Corporation dropped by 12.26 USD (2.59%) to 460.20 USD, while L3 Harris ended the day down 4.46 USD (1.78%) at 246.65 USD.
Divergent Trends for Coinbase and Circle
The stocks of stablecoin USDC issuer Circle and Coinbase, a Circle investor and co-developer of USDC, showed diverging performances.
Circle ended its recent surge, plummeting by 40.80 USD (15.49%) to 222.65 USD.
In contrast, Coinbase soared by 37.23 USD (12.10%) to 344.82 USD.
The surge in Coinbase’s target price from Benchmark Capital, which raised it from 301 USD to 421 USD the previous day, played a major role.
Nevertheless, Circle’s stock price skyrocketed nearly 620% in less than a month since its IPO at 31 USD on June 4.
