NEW YORK, July 31 (Xinhua) — US stocks ended higher on Thursday, buoyed by a powerful surge in technology equities led by Microsoft after the software giant posted record quarterly cloud revenue, reported Xinhua.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 613.92 points, or 1.19 per cent, to 52,208.06. The benchmark S&P 500 added 121.48 points, or 1.66 per cent, to 7,437.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index soared 679.24 points, or 2.78 per cent, to 25,122.18.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed in positive territory. Technology and consumer discretionary led the advancing groups, climbing 5.24 per cent and 1.57 per cent, respectively. On the losing side, communication services and consumer staples led the decliners, sliding 2.52 per cent and 2.24 per cent.
In the corporate arena, performance diverged sharply among mega-cap technology leaders following Wednesday’s post-close earnings reports. Shares of Microsoft jumped more than 15 per cent, marking its largest single-day percentage gain since 2008 and recording the biggest single-day gain in market capitalisation of any company in history. The rally was driven by the company’s Azure cloud division topping US$100 billion in annual revenue for the first time.
Conversely, Meta Platforms plunged 7.95 per cent, extending a multi-session decline as an earnings miss heightened investor concerns over the social media giant’s ability to monetise its massive artificial intelligence investments. Following the closing bell on Thursday, Amazon shares rose over 9 per cent in extended trading after the company reported second-quarter revenue and cloud growth that topped Wall Street estimates. Market participants then turned their attention to Apple’s results for insights into hardware profit margins amid rising memory chip costs.
On the macroeconomic front, US Commerce Department data showed that US personal consumption expenditures price index rose at a slower month-on-month pace in June, offering encouraging signs for the Federal Reserve. Additional data revealed that US gross domestic product slowed unexpectedly in the second quarter, expanding at an annualised rate of 1.5 per cent.
The economic figures arrived as investors continued to digest the Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to maintain benchmark interest rates. Fixed-income markets saw significant volatility, pushing the 30-year US Treasury yield to a multi-decade high near 5.24 per cent on Thursday.
Meanwhile, geopolitical concerns remained elevated, although oil prices fell on Thursday. The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery dropped 87 cents, or 1.03 per cent, to settle at US$83.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery lost US$1.71, or 1.88 per cent, to settle at US$89.03 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
