United Arab Emirates · Daily briefing
Double Espresso Daily · Wednesday · New quarter
Vol 14 / №90 · Wednesday, 01 July 2026

The AI comeback accelerates, capping a blockbuster quarter.

Chipmakers ripped on Tuesday — AMD up 7.7%, SanDisk 10.9%, Intel 6% — lifting the Nasdaq 1.52% and fully reversing last week's derating. It closed the best quarter for US stocks since 2020: the S&P 500 rose about 14% and the Nasdaq around 20% in Q2. The US–Iran talks in Doha, meanwhile, snagged on whether Iran can charge ships to use the Strait of Hormuz; ADP and ISM data land today, ahead of Thursday's jobs report.

MarketsDaily briefing9 min read
Nasdaq +1.52% S&P 500 +0.79% S&P 500 · Q2 +14% · best since 2020 Nasdaq · Q2 ~+20% AMD +7.7% SanDisk +10.9% Nvidia +2.6% Brent ~$73 · steady US 10-Yr ~4.43% DXY steady US–Iran Doha talks · tolling in dispute Today ADP + ISM · jobs Thursday Nasdaq +1.52% S&P 500 +0.79% S&P 500 · Q2 +14% · best since 2020 Nasdaq · Q2 ~+20% AMD +7.7% SanDisk +10.9% Nvidia +2.6% Brent ~$73 · steady US 10-Yr ~4.43% DXY steady US–Iran Doha talks · tolling in dispute Today ADP + ISM · jobs Thursday
Hormuz · IN TALKS

In Doha the sticking point is tolls: Oman proposes shipping “service fees”; the White House says Iran cannot toll an international waterway · Iran's line: Tehran rejects a third-party role on the strait and played down a direct meeting; shipping is flowing for now

As of Wed 1 Jul 2026, 06:30 GST

01 · Market Snapshot

The four numbers Wednesday is opening on.

+1.52%

Nasdaq · Tue

chips lead a 2nd straight bounce

+14%

S&P 500 · Q2

best quarter since 2020

Doha

US–Iran

talks on; strait tolling disputed

ADP + ISM

Today

jobs report Thursday

02 · The Lead

Last week's wobble now looks like a dip, not a top.

The quarter that just closed travelled from a war-and-inflation scare to a soft landing in a matter of weeks, and last week's AI derating already looks like a dip rather than a top. Whether the recovery holds now rests on the labour data this week and on whether Doha can settle the one issue — the cost and control of the strait — that keeps reigniting the conflict.

03 · Market Reactions

Chips rip; the quarter ends on a high.

  • Semiconductors led again — AMD, SanDisk and Marvell posted mid-to-high single-digit gains, completing a two-day snapback.
  • Breadth was broad — the S&P and Nasdaq both advanced to close the best quarter since 2020.
  • Oil and yields were steady — crude held near $73 and the 10-year stayed put ahead of the jobs data.

Equity figures are Tuesday 30 Jun's close; rates, FX and commodity levels are the latest available and approximate ahead of Thursday's jobs report.

+1.52%

Nasdaq · Tue

chip-led bounce

+14%

S&P 500 · Q2

best since 2020

~+20%

Nasdaq · Q2

AI-led quarter

4.43%

US 10-Yr

~ steady into jobs

Equities · VIX
Spotlight · Chipmakers
+7.7%
AMD leads a broad chip rally

SanDisk (+10.9%), Marvell (+7.3%) and Intel (+6%) joined the surge — a full reversal of last week's derating.

Show all movers
Nasdaq +1.52% · chip-led
S&P 500 +0.79%
AMD +7.7%
Nvidia +2.6%
Rates · Bonds
Spotlight · US 10-Yr
4.43%
~ steady ahead of payrolls

Yields held after last week's PCE-driven drop; today's ADP and ISM, then Thursday's jobs, are the catalysts.

Show all rates
US 2-Yr ~4.16% steady
US 30-Yr ~4.94% steady
Fed funds 3.50-3.75% Oct hike less certain

Yield-up = red, yield-down = green. Levels approximate, pre-jobs.

Commodities
Spotlight · Brent
~$73
steady as the truce holds

Crude held near recent levels; the Doha tolling dispute is the swing factor for the next move.

Show all commodities
WTI ~$70 steady
Gold ~$4,090 soft on risk-on
Silver ~$75 ~flat

Commodity levels approximate, latest available.

FX · Crypto
Spotlight · US Dollar
steady
holding into the jobs data

The dollar was little changed as risk appetite returned; crypto firmed with tech.

Show all FX & crypto
EUR/USD ~1.075 steady
USD/JPY ~160 steady
Bitcoin ~$63k firmer with tech

FX/crypto levels approximate, latest available.

04 · Chart of the Day

Chips led the two-day snapback.

Tuesday's chip gains · % change

From rout to rip in two sessions.

The same semiconductor names that led last week's selloff drove the rebound, as “AI fatigue” gave way to bargain-hunting.

0% SanDisk +10.9% AMD +7.7% Marvell +7.3% Intel +6% Nvidia +2.6%
Key takeaway · A week that started with an AI-valuation scare ended with chips up sharply and the Nasdaq back near its highs — a reminder of how quickly the market's dominant trade can swing on sentiment.

Source: TheStreet, Schwab, Yahoo Finance, close of Tue 30 Jun 2026.

05 · What Else Matters

Three headlines shaping today.

Markets

The best quarter since 2020

  • Q2 saw the S&P rise ~14% and the Nasdaq ~20% — a rebound from a war-and-inflation scare into a soft landing.
  • That leaves the S&P +9.6% and the Nasdaq +12.8% year-to-date after a weak first quarter.

Schwab · TheStreet · 30 Jun

Tech · AI

Chips lead the snapback

  • AMD (+7.7%), SanDisk (+10.9%), Marvell (+7.3%) and Intel (+6%) surged; Nvidia added 2.6%.
  • Last week's AI-fatigue selloff has reversed in two sessions — a dip, so far, not a top.

TheStreet · CNBC · 30 Jun

Geopolitics

Doha talks snag on tolling

  • Oman's proposal for shipping “service fees” on Hormuz clashes with the White House line that Iran cannot toll the strait.
  • Tehran rejects a third-party role and downplayed a direct meeting; the interim deal's terms remain unresolved.

CNN · Al Jazeera · 30 Jun–1 Jul

06 · MENA Focus

The strait's price tag takes centre stage.

With the fighting paused, the Doha talks have moved from whether Hormuz reopens to who controls it and at what cost — a distinctly regional question. Oman has floated a plan for shipping companies to pay service fees to transit the strait, an idea the White House opposes as tantamount to Iran tolling an international waterway, while Tehran rejects any third-party role. For the Gulf the near-term picture is benign — oil steady near $73, vessels moving — but the tolling fight is the kind of unresolved detail that can still move crude and regional sentiment. Qatar's hosting of the talks again underlines the Gulf's central diplomatic role.

Vault Wealth's house view: the base case stays gradual normalisation, supportive of GCC financials and domestic-demand names; keep a modest hedge against strait-related headline risk while the fee dispute is worked through in Doha.

Sticking point

Tolls

Oman's service-fee plan vs a “no-toll” US line

Hormuz

Flowing

Shipping moving as the stand-down holds

Brent

~$73

Steady, well off the war highs

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