The Nasdaq Composite demonstrated resilience on Friday, July 31, 2026, closing the session with a notable gain as the market reacted to a wave of major technology earnings. This upward momentum for the tech-heavy index came even as Apple shares experienced a significant decline. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.00% for the day, closing at 25,373.85.
Apple's stock, however, faced considerable selling pressure. The tech giant's shares fell sharply, reportedly by as much as 9.4% in morning trading, and ended the day down significantly. This downturn followed Apple's release of its second-quarter financial results, which, while beating revenue and earnings estimates, were marred by a miss in its crucial Services segment and weaker-than-expected performance in China. Investors also reacted to a lackluster forecast for upcoming revenue growth, with executives citing component supply chain issues exacerbated by the AI boom. This marked Apple's worst single-day post-earnings sell-off since January 2013.
In contrast, Amazon's stock surged, gaining over 15% at one point, its largest single-day increase in over a decade. This rally was fueled by the company's strong second-quarter earnings, which exceeded analyst expectations and highlighted robust cloud computing growth and effective AI monetization. Microsoft also saw significant gains, with its shares reportedly up 15.5% for the week following strong Azure growth, bolstering confidence in AI spending. These positive results from key tech players helped to offset concerns about inflation, which continued to put upward pressure on Treasury yields, with the 10-year Treasury note reaching its highest level since January 2025.
The broader market also saw gains, with the S&P 500 rising 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.5% on Friday. Despite the mixed performance of individual stocks, the major U. S. stock indexes were on track to post weekly gains, closing out a volatile July on a generally positive note for the month.
