Stephen Whiteside reviews a quiet, holiday-shortened trading environment ahead of the July 4 weekend. Major indexes were largely unchanged on Wednesday, with the Russell 2000 reversing from a new high and the NASDAQ posting an inside day. The VIX remains on a sell signal, which supports higher stock prices, but light volume and upcoming jobless claims data could still influence the market’s direction.
Broker-dealers, digital payments, and software stocks led Wednesday’s gains, with Shopify, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Palantir among the notable winners. Memory stocks and semiconductors weakened, while crude oil continued lower and pressure remained on energy shares. Investors should watch bond yields, commodity weakness, and key support levels in energy, while recognizing that the long weekend may create a modest bullish bias despite very thin trading conditions.
Stephen Whiteside
Thursday, July 2, 2026
