Thanks to strong corporate profits, the resilience of the U.S. economy, and investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, the S&P 500 index has risen 15% year-to-date, setting 31 new closing highs and marking the busiest first half of a year for record-breaking since 2021.

Looking at the historical data, July is an excellent month for US stocks.

Since 1928, July has averaged the best performance for US stocks throughout the year. According to Dow Jones Market Data, during this period, the S&P 500 index has averaged a 1.7% increase in July and has closed higher than the opening price more than 60% of the time during this month.

However, for the market, as we enter July, many heavy financial events are looming, including Fed Chairman Powell's semi-annual monetary policy testimony, a new round of earnings season, and heavyweight economic data.

• On July 2, Fed Chairman Powell, ECB President Lagarde, and Brazilian Central Bank Governor Neto delivered speeches at the ECB central bank forum.

• Because of Independence Day, U.S. stocks closed three hours early on July 3, with trading hours from 21:30 to 01:00 the next day (Beijing time) and post-trading hours from 01:00 to 05:00 the next day (Beijing time), and the full day closed on July 4.

• On July 4, the Fed released the minutes of its monetary policy meeting.

• On July 9, Fed Chairman Powell gave his semi-annual monetary policy testimony to the Senate Banking Committee.

• On July 12, a new round of earnings season began in the U.S., with the three major investment banks leading the way.

• On July 19 (after U.S. Eastern Time on July 18), Netflix will release its latest earnings.

In addition, a series of heavyweight economic data will also be released, including non-farm payrolls, CPI, PPI, PCE, and more.

Editor/Somer