US stock indices closed sharply higher on Thursday, rebounding from the prior session’s losses as chipmakers rallied and investors digested a fresh round of earnings. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, the Nasdaq jumped 3.4%, and the Dow advanced 614 points.
Microsoft surged 15.5% after reporting 43% growth in cloud revenue, its fastest pace since 2022, while keeping capital expenditure guidance broadly in line with expectations. Semiconductor stocks rebounded strongly from yesterday’s selloff: Micron climbed 18.4%, AMD gained 13%, Intel added 11.3%, and SanDisk soared 26% as investors bought the dip on expectations that the AI-driven rally still has further to run. Oracle jumped 8.3% after expanding its Google Gemini AI partnership, helping to offset a weak outlook from Meta, which fell 7.9%.
Treasury yields remained elevated despite softer Q2 GDP growth. The Fed left interest rates unchanged yesterday, but Chair Warsh’s reluctance to clearly rule out future increases raised concerns that inflation may remain higher for longer. Investors are now looking ahead to earnings from Apple (-1.4% during the session) and Amazon (+3.9%), which report later.
