Stock Market Today: Dow at 53K, Microsoft Cuts 4,800

The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at 53,055.91 on Monday, July 6, its first close above 53,000 in the index's history, as semiconductor stocks reversed course and renewed confidence in the artificial intelligence trade drove broad gains across U.S. markets. The S&P 500 added 0.72% to 7,537.43, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.12% to 26,121.16. The Russell 2000 closed at 3,009.54, pulling the small-cap benchmark back above 3,000. All four major U.S. indexes finished higher on the day.

AI Trade Rebounds After June's Chip Sell-Off

The session's catalyst was a broad reversal in semiconductor stocks, which had sold off since Meta disclosed plans on July 1 to lease surplus AI computing capacity to external customers, triggering concerns in Seoul and New York that the AI infrastructure buildout might be losing momentum. Monday suggested otherwise.

Foxconn, which manufactures servers containing Nvidia chips, reported quarterly sales on Sunday that exceeded forecasts, offering evidence that AI hardware orders had not slowed. Nvidia confirmed its product roadmap remained on schedule. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 2.7% by the opening bell. Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Tesla all finished higher.

The Dow had already pushed toward record territory in mid-June, when Wall Street rallied sharply on the U.S.-Iran peace framework, sending oil prices down roughly 5% and lifting the index toward 51,800 intraday. Monday extended that trajectory and produced a confirmed all-time closing record. The prior week had already seen the Dow close above 52,900 following a June jobs report that showed the U.S. economy added only 57,000 payrolls in June, against expectations of 113,000.

SpaceX, which raised $85.7 billion in its June 12 Nasdaq IPO under the ticker SPCX, was confirmed to join the Nasdaq-100 before Tuesday's open. Inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 at that scale generates automatic purchases by the hundreds of passive funds tracking the index, adding a structural demand floor beneath the shares.

Microsoft Cuts 4,800 Jobs, Overhauls Xbox

Microsoft confirmed on July 6 that it was eliminating approximately 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of its global workforce. The Xbox gaming division faced the deepest reductions. About 1,600 roles were removed immediately within Xbox, and the company said the total gaming division cut would reach roughly 3,200 positions across fiscal year 2027. Four studios will leave Xbox management and move to independent ownership.

Amy Coleman, Microsoft's chief people officer, wrote in a message to employees that the technological environment was "transforming faster than at any point in my time here." Coleman confirmed that the roles being eliminated Monday were not being directly replaced by AI, though Microsoft's announcement also acknowledged that AI is reshaping how the company builds and deploys its products. Brad Smith, Microsoft's president and vice chair, said in a GeekWire interview: "Microsoft can only be a strong employer if it has a successful business."

More than 30% of the approximately 8,750 U.S. employees offered a voluntary retirement program accepted it in recent weeks, reducing the mandatory headcount reduction. Four days earlier, on July 2, Microsoft had launched a separate $2.5 billion initiative called Microsoft Frontier Company, which will embed 6,000 engineers directly inside enterprise customers to accelerate AI deployments.

The cuts arrive after a difficult stretch for Microsoft's stock. Shares had fallen roughly 23% in the first half of 2026, their steepest six-month decline since 2022, as investors weighed whether Microsoft's AI services would grow fast enough to justify its $190 billion projected capital expenditure for the year. Microsoft shares fell a further 1.4% on Monday.

Tesla's Delivery Count Lands 74,000 Above Estimates

Tesla reported 480,126 vehicle deliveries for Q2 2026 on July 2, a 25% increase over the 384,122 deliveries it recorded in the same quarter a year earlier. Production for the quarter came in at 451,758 vehicles. The energy storage business deployed 13.5 GWh, ahead of the 13.3 GWh that analysts had forecast.

Wall Street's consensus had been approximately 406,000 deliveries. Tesla's final figure landed roughly 74,000 higher. The Model 3 and Model Y together accounted for 467,762 of the deliveries, about 97% of the quarter's total. SpaceX's April purchase of $269 million in Tesla Megapacks also contributed to the energy storage beat. Tesla does not break out results by country or region.

Despite those numbers, Tesla shares fell 7.49% on July 2, the largest single-day decline in nearly a year. The stock had risen for four consecutive sessions heading into the report, absorbing the anticipated good news before the official release. Tesla will report full second-quarter financial results, including automotive gross margins and updates on Cybercab and Optimus, on July 22 after market close.

Seoul's Paradox: Record Profit, Market Breakdown

South Korea's KOSPI index fell as much as 8.2% in intraday trading on Tuesday, July 7 triggering a 20-minute circuit breaker at 1:51 p.m. local time after the index held at least 8% below the prior close for one full minute, activating Korea Exchange rules. The index recovered part of the drop and closed 4.9% lower at 7,656.31, the sixth circuit breaker triggered on the KOSPI this calendar year.

The selloff arrived on the same morning Samsung Electronics published its preliminary Q2 2026 operating profit guidance of KRW 89.4 trillion (approximately $58 billion), roughly 19 times the KRW 4.68 trillion it recorded in Q2 2025 and about 6% above analyst projections. Revenue guidance came in at KRW 171 trillion. Samsung and SK Hynix shares both fell more than 10% in Seoul despite the profit beat.

The disconnect had a specific origin. Morgan Stanley published a research note on July 6 warning that memory semiconductor stocks could face a correction, citing a slowdown in DRAM price growth, stabilizing inventory improvements, and a possible near-term ceiling in upward earnings revisions. The firm maintained a positive long-term view but flagged the pace of gains as vulnerable. Profit-taking followed immediately when Seoul opened.

What Arrives This Week

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to release minutes from its June 16-17 FOMC meeting on Wednesday, July 8 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Chair Kevin Warsh, who began leading the Fed on May 22, presided over that session. The June payrolls miss 57,000 jobs added against a 4.2% unemployment rate, well below the 113,000 expected will frame the committee's rate outlook as the minutes arrive.

Tesla's full second-quarter earnings, including automotive gross margins and any guidance on full-year deliveries, are scheduled for July 22 after market close.