Wall Street extended its historic rally this week, with major benchmarks such as the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 hitting fresh all-time highs, as strong corporate earnings, robust economic data and AI-fueled tech momentum continued to boost investor optimism.
Big banks beat earnings estimates, setting a strong tone for the season. Airlines and consumer-focused giants also impressed.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) reported their best trading weeks of the year, further supporting the confidence that solid consumer demand is driving margins across sectors.
Economic strength was underscored by June’s retail sales data, which showed a 0.6% monthly increase — crushing economists’ forecast of 0.1% — while jobless claims dropped to 221,000, their lowest level since …