Markets closed modestly higher on Thursday, June 25, 2026, though the headline gains masked a deeply bifurcated session. The S&P 500 added just 0.14% to close at 7,350.34, and the Dow Jones mirrored that tepid performance, finishing at 51,598.87 — also up 0.14%. The real story was in the growth and small-cap corners of the market, where the Nasdaq climbed 0.81% to 26,004.59 and the Russell 2000 gained 0.75% to 2,977.14.
Apple's dramatic 6.12% drop to $275.15 was the elephant in the room. Given Apple's outsized weight in major indices, its decline acted as a significant drag on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, making the underlying breadth of Thursday's session considerably stronger than the index-level numbers suggest. Without Apple's selloff, the tech-heavy Nasdaq likely would have posted a far more impressive advance.
On the bright side, UnitedHealth Group led the gainers, climbing 2.40% to $415.53, reflecting investor appetite for defensive, large-cap healthcare exposure. Gold continued to shine as a safe-haven asset, holding firm at $4,034.50, underscoring a lingering undercurrent of caution even as equities pushed higher.
Overall, Thursday's session felt like a market searching for direction — strong under the surface, but weighed down by idiosyncratic headline risk in mega-cap tech.