U.S. markets enter Friday, June 26, 2026, with conditions set by the Thursday, June 25 close. Stocks finished mixed. Small caps led. The Dow moved higher. The S&P 500 was nearly flat. The Nasdaq slipped again. Semiconductors improved. Mega-cap technology stayed uneven. Treasury yields fell. The dollar eased. Oil rebounded from Wednesday’s drop.

Gold moved back above $4,000.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,357.49.
The Nasdaq closed at 25,358.60.
The Dow closed at 51,920.62.
The Russell 2000 closed at 3,007.86.

The surface was mixed. The internal structure improved as small caps broke above 3,000, but mega-cap technology still kept pressure on the Nasdaq.

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Thursday’s session showed another split across the major indexes.

The Russell 2000 rose +0.7%.
The Dow gained +0.1%.
The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1%.
The Nasdaq dropped -0.5%.

That ranked the major indexes from strongest to weakest as: Russell 2000, Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq.

The Russell 2000 gained 21.23 points.
The Dow gained 71.72 points.
The S&P 500 lost 0.73 points.
The Nasdaq lost 118.04 points.

The strongest signal came from small caps.

The Russell 2000 closed above 3,000 and finished at 3,007.86. That gave the tape better internal support than the Nasdaq headline suggested. The Dow also held firm. It gained 71.72 points and stayed ahead of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The weakest signal came from the Nasdaq. It fell 0.5% as weakness in mega-cap technology offset strength in semiconductors. Micron Technology jumped after stronger earnings and revenue. Qualcomm also rose after lifting its AI-related revenue outlook. That gave the chip tape a clear lift. But mega-cap technology remained uneven. Apple fell sharply and was one of the largest drags on the S&P 500. The session was not a clean technology rebound. AI-linked chip names improved, but platform stocks remained mixed.

For the week, the S&P 500 is down 1.9%.
The Nasdaq is down 4.4%.
The Dow is up 0.7%.
The Russell 2000 is up 0.9%.

Treasury yields fell after the inflation data.

The 2-year yield moved near 4.12%.
The 10-year yield moved near 4.39%.
The 30-year yield moved near 4.84%.

The move gave equities some relief, especially smaller companies and rate-sensitive groups.

The 10-year yield moved farther below 4.5%. That reduced some pressure on long-duration assets.
The 2-year yield stayed above 4%. That kept the front end elevated and showed that policy risk did not disappear.

The bond market read the inflation report as less severe than feared. Yields moved lower after the May PCE data matched expectations and monthly inflation came in slightly below estimates. That helped the broader tape, but it did not fully repair growth leadership. The Nasdaq still closed lower.

The dollar eased after the inflation report.

The U.S. Dollar Index moved near 101.41.
The euro strengthened against the dollar.
The yen remained near multi-decade lows.
The dollar had reached a 13-month high earlier in the week.

Thursday’s move gave back part of that strength. The pullback mattered because it eased some pressure on commodities and global financial conditions. A softer dollar helped gold rebound. It also reduced one layer of pressure on risk assets after several sessions of dollar strength. The yen remained the exception. It stayed close to levels last seen in the mid-1980s, keeping currency markets active even as the dollar index eased. The currency backdrop improved at the margin, but it did not turn loose. The dollar remained elevated, and the front end of the Treasury curve stayed above 4%.

Commodity markets reversed part of Wednesday’s move.

WTI crude settled at $71.92.
Brent crude settled at $75.26.
Spot gold traded near $4,032.74.
Gold futures settled at $4,047.60.

Oil rebounded after the prior collapse.

WTI rose 2.2%.
Brent rose 2.1%.

The move followed renewed concern around shipping near Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. Even with the rebound, oil stayed far below the stress levels from earlier in June. WTI remained near the low $70s. Brent stayed in the mid-$70s. That kept the energy backdrop much cleaner than it was during the war spike.

Gold bounced back above $4,000.
Spot gold rose 0.8%.
Gold futures gained about 1%.

The move came as the dollar and Treasury yields eased after the inflation report. The commodity backdrop is now balanced between two signals. Oil is no longer collapsing, but it is still contained. Gold recovered, but it remains sensitive to the dollar and rate path.

The Friday setup is defined by a better breadth signal and a softer rate signal. Small caps led. The Russell 2000 closed above 3,000. The Dow rose. Treasury yields fell. The dollar eased. Gold recovered. That gave the tape more support than Wednesday’s setup. But technology leadership remained uneven. The Nasdaq fell 0.5%. Apple fell sharply. The S&P 500 was nearly flat. The macro data kept rate risk alive, but reduced the immediate shock.

The PCE price index rose 4.1% from a year earlier in May.
Core PCE rose 3.4% from a year earlier.
Consumer spending rose 0.7%.
Jobless claims fell to 215,000.
First-quarter GDP was revised up to 2.1%.

Those numbers showed sticky inflation and resilient demand. But monthly inflation came in slightly below expectations, which helped push yields and the dollar lower. Markets enter Friday with a cleaner rate tape, firmer small caps, contained oil, and uneven technology leadership. The setup improved, but it is still not fully broad.

Key reference levels:

Markets enter Friday after a mixed Thursday close. Small caps led. The Dow advanced. The S&P 500 was nearly flat. The Nasdaq slipped again. Yields fell. The dollar eased. Oil rebounded. Gold moved back above $4,000.

The key backdrop: Thursday’s close was stronger underneath than it looked on the surface. The Russell 2000 broke above 3,000, yields moved lower, and gold recovered. But the Nasdaq still slipped, mega-cap technology stayed uneven, and the market remained split between improving breadth and mixed growth leadership.