New York stocks closed mixed on July 2 (local time) as a rotation between sectors emerged while profit-taking selling in AI-related semiconductor stocks continued for the second consecutive day.

On this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 594.83 points (1.14%) to close at 52,900.07.

With this gain, the Dow index reached a new all-time high.

The S&P 500 index closed flat, up 0.01 points (0.00%) at 7,483.24.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 207.36 points (0.80%) to finish at 25,832.67.

AI-related semiconductor chip stocks continued their downward trend for the second straight session following yesterday's decline.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks 30 major U.S.-listed semiconductor companies, fell 5.4% on this day.

The decline over the past two days exceeded 11%.

Memory chipmaker Micron Technology fell 5.49% today, following a 10.6% plunge the previous day.

AI chip leader Nvidia fell 1.39%, while other major semiconductor companies also saw significant drops, including Broadcom (-2.41%), AMD (-4.26%), Intel (-5.25%), and Marvell Technology (-9.84%).

Conversely, consumer staples such as Walmart (2.78%), Costco (2.92%), Coca-Cola (3.51%), and Procter & Gamble (2.70%) showed strength across the board. Pharmaceutical stocks also performed well, with Eli Lilly (1.86%), Johnson & Johnson (3.57%), AbbVie (3.99%), and Merck (3.34%) posting gains.

Analysts interpret this as investors engaging in profit-taking and sector rotation, growing skeptical about the sustainability of the rally following the sharp rise in semiconductor stocks over the past few months.

Meanwhile, the U.S. non-farm payrolls for June, released on this day, showed an increase of 57,000 jobs from the previous month, significantly missing Wall Street expectations (an increase of 115,000, according to Dow Jones).

Wall Street, which had been concerned about inflationary pressure due to an overheated labor market, saw the employment data as a sign that the U.S. Federal Reserve, led by Chair Kevin Warsh, might face less pressure to raise interest rates within the year.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the interest rate futures market reflected a 23% probability that the Fed would keep the benchmark interest rate frozen at the current 3.50–3.75% through December.

This figure is higher than the 17% recorded the previous day.

The probability of at least one interest rate hike was lowered from 83% the previous day to 77%.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)