Stocks Extend 2026 Bull Market as Cooling Inflation and Dovish Fed Offset Semiconductor Sell-Off
Updated
Updated · Invesco · Jul 17
Stocks Extend 2026 Bull Market as Cooling Inflation and Dovish Fed Offset Semiconductor Sell-Off
1 articles · Updated · Invesco · Jul 17
Summary
Cooling U.S. inflation and a less hawkish Federal Reserve are helping keep the 2026 bull market intact despite a recent semiconductor pullback and repeated calls for the rally to end.
June consumer prices fell as energy costs dropped, producer inflation came in softer than expected, and New York Fed President John Williams said inflation has likely peaked.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh also argued heavy AI investment should lift productivity and ease price pressures over time, signaling little appetite for aggressive tightening.
Earnings growth has stayed solid across sectors, with few major misses or broad downward revisions, while equal-weight indexes outperformed and leadership widened beyond megacap technology.
For banks, that backdrop has supported stronger capital-markets activity, healthier trading volumes and rising wealth-management assets, reinforcing the view that the usual bear-market triggers are still absent.