Nasdaq surges 3.36% as Microsoft posts record $484bn gain and crowded AI bet is cleared

Tech rebounds after Microsoft's Azure beat and the forced liquidation of a $24bn hedge fund lift chip stocks, though the 30-year Treasury yield near 5.21% still signals caution

Deepakshi

Kristal Research & Marketing team

31 Jul2 min

Key takeaways — AI summary

The Nasdaq jumped 3.36% to 28,106 and the S&P 500 rose 1.66% to 7,438, with the main semiconductor group up more than 5% as tech reversed Wednesday's slide.
Microsoft (MSFT) rose 15.5% — its best day in about 18 years — adding roughly $484bn in market value, the biggest one-day gain by any US company, after Azure grew at its fastest pace in four years despite $41bn in quarterly AI spending.
Situational Awareness, Leopold Aschenbrenner's $24bn hedge fund, was forced to sell its entire public portfolio to Citadel after heavy losses; JPMorgan told clients the forced selling now looks largely finished, sending former holdings such as Nebius and Bloom Energy up 27%.
US GDP slowed to a 1.5% annual rate (vs 2.1% expected), the Fed's preferred inflation gauge cooled to 3.7% (core 3.3%) and consumer spending held at 3.2%; the 30-year Treasury yield sat near 5.21%, close to its highest since 2007, while the 10-year eased to 4.66%.
Earnings diverged: Amazon rose about 9% after-hours on 37% AWS growth, while Meta fell 8.48%, Apple dropped 6% after-hours and Teladoc collapsed 28.38% on a cut forecast.

Generated by Kristal AI · reviewed by the research desk

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