S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq best first half since 2021 H1 2026
Key takeaways
- S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq best first half since 2021 H1 2026 S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq best first half since 2021 H1 2026 · Quartz · Michael M.
- Futures pointed higher again Tuesday morning, with Dow futures up 95 points, or 0.2%.
- Quarterly returns of nearly 14% for the S&P 500 and 19.6% for the Nasdaq would mark the largest three-month gains for both indexes since Q2 2020.
S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq best first half since 2021 H1 2026 S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq best first half since 2021 H1 2026 · Quartz · Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Cris Tolomia Tue, June 30, 2026 at 6:33 PM GMT+7 2 min read ^DJI ^GSPC ^IXIC A gain of 8.6% through the first six months of the year has the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track to record its strongest first-half showing since the 12.7% rise it notched in 2021, according to CNBC.
The Dow reached a fresh record close on Monday. Futures pointed higher again Tuesday morning, with Dow futures up 95 points, or 0.2%.
The second quarter has been the stronger stretch. Quarterly returns of nearly 14% for the S&P 500 and 19.6% for the Nasdaq would mark the largest three-month gains for both indexes since Q2 2020. A 12.6% quarterly rise puts the Dow on course for a performance not seen since the final three months of 2022. For the full first half, the S&P 500 is up more than 8% and the Nasdaq has climbed 11.1%.