04:41 PM EDT, 07/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.8% this week, led by gains in communication services and financials ahead of the holiday weekend.

The S&P 500 ended Thursday's session at 7,483.24. This marks the end of the trading week as the US stock market will be closed on Friday in observance of Independence Day.

Earlier this week, the S&P 500 closed out June with a 1.1% loss, its first monthly decline since March. Still, it gained 15% in the second quarter and 9.6% in the first half of 2026.

On Thursday, US jobs data for June came in mixed. The data showed the US economy added fewer jobs than expected in June, yet the unemployment rate came in lower than forecast.

Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 57,000 last month, representing the weakest tally since February and a notable miss versus the consensus estimate for an 113,000 increase. Also, May's gain was downwardly revised to 129,000 from an initial 172,000, while April's tally was lowered to 148,000 from 179,000.

Nevertheless, the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3%. The rate had been expected to remain at 4.3%.

Communication services was the best performing sector this week, climbing 4.9%, followed by a 3.7% advance in financials, a 2.8% increase in consumer discretionary and a 2.1% rise in health care. Industrials and materials also rose by more than 1% each, while technology and consumer staples edged higher.

Fox (FOXA, FOX) had the largest percentage gains in communication services for the week, with its Class A shares jumping 13% and Class B shares rising 10%. A regulatory filing showed the company entered into a $1 billion senior unsecured term loan credit agreement to help fund a portion of the cash consideration for its pending acquisition of Roku (ROKU). The two-year term loan facility will be available upon completion of the acquisition, with Fox also able to borrow up to an additional $1 billion, it said.

Robinhood Markets ( HOOD ) led the climb in financials, gaining 14%. The company launched perpetual futures with no expiry date tied to commodities like gold, silver, and crude oil, as well as exchange-traded funds, and currencies in Europe, multiple media outlets reported.

Real estate declined 1.5% while utilities and energy shed 1% each.

Digital Realty ( DLR ) was among the hardest-hit stocks in real estate, falling 10%. The company said on Tuesday that it priced a secondary public offering of 12.3 million shares by affiliates of Blackstone (BX) at $185.00 each, representing a discount to its Monday closing price of $190.58.

Quarterly earnings reports next week are expected from companies including PepsiCo (PEP) and Delta Air Lines (DAL).

Economic data will include May consumer credit, June existing home sales, and the June Services Purchasing Managers' Index or PMI.