(Updates with market moves at the end of the day.)
The Nasdaq Composite surged Thursday, rebounding after a six-day losing streak, as Microsoft's (MSFT) shares moved 16% higher in a post-earning rally.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.8% to close at 25,122.18, its biggest single-day percentage gain since June 15. The S&P 500 rose 1.7% to 7,437.63, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2% to 52,208.06. Among sectors, tech paced the gainers with a 5.2% advance, while communication services led the laggards.
Microsoft soared almost 16%, the top gainer on the Dow. Its quarterly results released late Wednesday topped estimates driven by a revenue surge in cloud computing platform Azure.
"This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their (artificial intelligence) transformation," Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sandisk (SNDK) surged 26%, the top performer on the S&P 500, while other chip-related stocks also logged sharp gains, such as Micron Technology (MU), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel (INTC).
Meta Platforms' (META) shares slumped 8% as the technology giant provided a soft third-quarter revenue outlook following an unexpected year-over-year decline in quarterly earnings. It raised the lower end of its capital expenditure guidance.
"Microsoft shows clearer AI revenue through Azure and Copilot, while Meta still depends mainly on advertising," Saxo Bank said in a report.
Amazon.com (AMZN) was the Dow's third-biggest gainer, up 3.9%. The e-commerce giant and Apple (AAPL) released their latest quarterly results after the closing bell on Thursday.
Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year rate up 5.1 basis points at 4.67%, while the two-year rate was little changed at 4.25%.
In economic news, the US personal consumption expenditure price index fell 0.1% month over month in June, marking the first decline since April 2020, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. That helped cut the year-over-year rate to 3.7% from 4.1%.
Separate data showed US economic growth slowed more than expected in the second quarter, though consumer spending seemed to shrug off intensifying price measures.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.9% at $83.71 a barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, while Brent fell 1.8% to $89.15. Both benchmarks are on track for hefty gains this month, following two consecutive monthly declines.
The US carried out fresh strikes against Iran on Wednesday in response to Tehran's attempted missile attacks on US forces in the Middle East a day earlier, the US Central Command said.
"Elevated energy prices are also clouding the inflation outlook for the (Federal Reserve), keeping upside inflation risks alive, with core PCE inflation having run above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years," TD Economics said. "While the Fed remained on the sidelines this week, financial markets continue to price a rate hike by year-end."
The Federal Open Market Committee held the policy rate steady on Wednesday, in a divided decision that included three officials calling for a hike.
Spot gold rose 1.1% to $4,113.71 per troy ounce, while silver advanced 2.3% to $59.43 per ounce.
