Morning Bid: Doubled by halftime

What matters in U.S. and global markets today

By Mike Dolan, Editor-at-Large, Finance and Markets

It's halftime for 2026 markets as the whistle blows on a turbulent and volatile first six months of the year.

Despite the energy-shocking four-month Iran war and ‌rancorous geopolitics over Venezuela, Greenland and NATO, it's been a boom year for key parts of the AI story, with chip stocks ‌more than doubling.

But first, check out my latest column on the lingering risks around the AI boom - even as bubble fears wane.

And catch the latest episode ​of the Morning Bid podcast - a mid-year special edition featuring Markets Columnist Jamie McGeever.

Subscribe to hear Reuters journalists discuss the biggest news in markets and finance seven days a week - and subscribe to Jamie's markets newsletter, Trading Day.

Many individual chip stocks trebled or quadrupled this year on pumped-up AI capex by the so-called hyperscalers. The second quarter was the best on record for the U.S. SOX chip index, but June was the worst month in a dour year so ‌far for the Magnificent Seven - most of whom are ⁠doing all the spending.

Oil prices have returned to pre-Iran war levels, meantime, with all eyes

Fuente original: Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/morning-bid-doubled-halftime-103314881.html)