07/13/2026
A war, an oil spike, and a 9% pullback gave investors plenty to worry about.
Then stocks rallied back to new highs, and the S&P 500 closed the first half with a 10.2% gain.
The headline return only tells part of the story. Inflation pressures broadened, software moved against the market, and AI reached into value, international, and small-cap stocks.
See what six charts reveal about the market beneath the index: https://mainstreetfla.com/insights/blog/market-commentary-top-charts-from-the-first-half-and-why-the-ai-wave-is-everywhere/