S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: Solar Stocks Surge; Home Builders Lose Ground

Michael Nagle / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

• The S&P 500 added 0.8% on Thursday, July 3, 2025, reaching a record closing high as a strong jobs report helped boost sentiment ahead of the holiday weekend.

• First Solar stock scored the best performance in the benchmark index, bolstered by the Senate's decision not to include a tax on wind and solar projects in the recently passed megabill.

• Shares of home builders moved lower as the strong jobs report reduced the probability of immediate interest-rate cuts.

Major U.S. equities indexes pushed higher Thursday in a half-day of trading as the nation geared up for Independence Day celebrations over the three-day weekend.

The upbeat pre-holiday market session followed the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of the latest labor market data, showing that U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June, exceeding economists' expectations, while the unemployment rate saw an unanticipated downtick.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8%, heading into the Fourth of July with a bang by setting its third record closing high in the abbreviated trading week. The Nasdaq Composite also reached another record high, notching a gain of 1% on Thursday, while the Dow ended 0.8% higher.

Solar power stocks gained ground as the massive tax and spending bill backed by President Trump was set to be approved in Congress. Although the legislation includes provisions to phase out federal tax credits for clean-energy projects, the Senate's final bill omitted an additional tax on solar and wind projects with a certain level of participation by foreign entities that had been present in a previous draft. Shares of panel manufacturer First Solar (FSLR) surged 8.5%, notching the S&P 500's top daily performance, while shares of microinverter specialist Enphase Energy (ENPH) gained 3.9%.

The U.S. government eliminated restrictions on exporting semiconductor design software to China, according to announcements by several industry players, who said they are in the process of resuming sales to the country. Shares of chip-design software firms Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Synopsys (SNPS) were up 5.1% and 4.9%, respectively.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) ended the day up 3.6% at a record high after Wedbush analysts lifted their price target on the stock and described the company as the "gold standard" in the cybersecurity industry. The Wedbush team highlighted CrowdStrike's strength in the artificial intelligence security space.

The unexpected strength in Thursday morning's jobs report reduced expectations among traders that the Federal Reserve could resume interest-rate cuts as soon as its July meeting. Declining optimism for lower mortgage rates pressured home builders' stocks. Lennar (LEN) shares dropped 4.1%, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock on Thursday, while shares of D.R. Horton (DHI) and NVR Inc. (NVR) were down 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively.

Agribusiness firm Bunge Global (BG) completed its acquisition of the grain-handling business Viterra, despite concerns that the merger could limit competition in the grain and canola markets. Bunge believes the deal can help the company compete more effectively against larger rivals as it navigates uncertainties in the global grain markets related to tariffs and geopolitical tensions. However, Bunge shares slipped 3.6% Thursday.

After opening the session solidly in positive territory, shares of pharmaceutical giant Merck (MRK) lost ground throughout the day, ending with a 1.8% loss. Although Merck is counting on growth driven by Winrevair, its newly launched treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, the company faces a headwind related to Keytruda, a treatment for several types of cancer that is set to lose exclusivity in 2028.

Read the original article on Investopedia