What S&P 500 Gains of 9.5% in the First Half Signal for the Rest of the Year

Key Points The S&P 500 index gained roughly 9.5% in the first half of 2026, which is a very good return for a six-month period. Investors should be cautious about reading too much into the stock market's gyrations. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust › On average, investors generally expect the market to provide roughly a 10% return each year. In fact, if you look at the long-term history of the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) , that's about what you get, assuming you reinvest dividends. So what should an investor make of the fact that the first six months of 2026 saw the S&P 500 index advance 9.5% on a price-only basis and nearly 10.2% with dividends reinvested? What's in the market average?