Nasdaq climbs 3.8% in two days as tech earnings lift markets

The Nasdaq Composite surged 2.8% to 25,122.18 on Thursday, capping a two-day gain of 3.8% as strong tech earnings snapped a six-day losing streak. The S&P 500 rose 1.7 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2 percent.

"The demand we already have for 2028 is striking," Andy Jassy, chief executive officer at Amazon, said. "If the demand isn't there, we won't spend the capital for servers and networking equipment."

Microsoft surged 15.5 percent, adding roughly $450 billion in market cap in a record one-day gain, after Azure-driven growth beat estimates. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 8.2 percent, with Micron up 18 percent, AMD up 13 percent and Sandisk up 26 percent. Amazon rose 9.3 percent after hours as AWS sales climbed 37 percent to $42.2 billion, while Apple fell 6 percent after hours despite beating on revenue and profit.

The rebound trimmed the Nasdaq's July decline, with chip stocks still down 21 percent for the month, their worst since 2008. The S&P 500 finished flat for July, while the 30-year Treasury yield ended near 5.21 percent, its highest since 2007, as investors weighed sticky inflation against the earnings-driven equity rebound.

Apple and Amazon Deliver, But Guidance Cuts Both Ways

Apple beat on revenue and profit, with revenue up 16.4 percent to $109.42 billion versus the $108.85 billion consensus and earnings per share of $2.02, up 28.7 percent year over year. iPhone revenue climbed 21.7 percent to $54.25 billion, setting June quarter records in every geographic segment. But Greater China revenue of $18.82 billion missed the $19.58 billion estimate by 3.9 percent, and Services revenue of $30.74 billion came in 2 percent below consensus. Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive officer, flagged "a 100-year flood in memory pricing" with exponential increases forcing product price hikes, and guided September quarter revenue to around $112 billion to $114 billion, below the $114.84 billion consensus.

Amazon delivered its fastest AWS growth in 18 quarters, with cloud sales up 37 percent to $42.2 billion and operating margin of 39.4 percent, well above the 33.8 percent estimate. The company raised 2026 capital expenditure to $220 billion from a prior estimate of about $200 billion, citing higher memory costs and demand that still outstrips supply. Jassy said AWS could eventually become a $1 trillion annual revenue business, with capacity already reserved deep into 2028.

The semiconductor bounce rippled across global markets. South Korea's Kospi soared as much as 15 percent to a one-month high, with SK Hynix jumping a record 28 percent and Samsung Electronics rising as much as 26 percent. Australian futures pointed to a 1.1 percent gain at the open, tracking the US rebound. The yen surged as much as 3.3 percent against the dollar, its biggest move since December 2023, after Japanese authorities reportedly intervened to prop up the currency.

Meta Platforms fell 8 percent after a soft revenue forecast and a 91 percent drop in second-quarter free cash flow, showing the divergence within Big Tech as investors reward companies with proven AI monetization over those still spending heavily. Brent crude slipped 1.2 percent to $87 a barrel even as the US and Iran traded fresh strikes across the Middle East, with a Saudi push for a naval coalition taking some heat out of oil prices.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.