Wall Street Closed Its Best Quarter Since 2020 as Bitcoin and Gold Diverged

Global equity markets ended the second quarter with broad gains. The S&P 500 posted its best quarter since 2020 and rose about 9.6% in the first half of the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its strongest first half since 2021, according to CNBC. Israel's Globes noted that Wall Street closed its strongest quarter in six years even as the Tel Aviv exchange finished its weakest month since October 2023, a reminder that the rally was concentrated rather than universal.

The advance was led by semiconductor shares as concern over high artificial-intelligence valuations eased and the Middle East conflict moved toward an interim settlement. The Nasdaq Composite gained more than 12% over the half.

Hard assets were more divided. Gold held near $4,030 an ounce and silver traded around $60, both near recent highs, while bitcoin slipped below $59,000 on June 30, down roughly 50% from its October 2025 peak near $126,000, according to Fortune. The split matters for a sound-money reading of the market. Gold, a long-established monetary asset, is serving as a store of value while equities reflect expectations of abundant liquidity and easing policy. Bitcoin, which supporters have promoted as a digital form of gold, has instead behaved as a volatile risk asset that moves more sharply than the broader market, and it fell as speculative positioning unwound. That divergence suggests the current rally depends more on expected central-bank support and enthusiasm for a small group of technology companies than on demand for hard money.