Global tech stocks surge as Microsoft, Amazon earnings revive AI confidence

A powerful rally in technology stocks swept across global markets on Friday, July 31, after blockbuster earnings from Microsoft ↗ 15.51% and Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↗ 3.90% revived investor confidence that massive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure will deliver returns, reversing weeks of punishing losses in semiconductor and AI-linked shares.

Wall Street Rebound Sets the Tone

Microsoft surged over 15% on Thursday — its biggest single-day gain in 18 years — after reporting that its Azure cloud computing division grew 43% during the quarter, easing broader concerns about the sustainability of AI capital expenditure. The gain added roughly $450 billion to the company's market value, the largest one-day increase ever recorded by a Wall Street-listed company. Amazon jumped about 10% in after-hours trading after reporting second-quarter revenue of $200.6 billion, with net income more than tripling and AWS cloud sales rising 37%.tradingview+3

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.78% on Thursday, snapping a six-session losing streak, while the S&P 500 rose 1.66% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.19%. Memory chip stocks also soared, with Micron Technology ↗ 18.36% rising over 18% and AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ↗ 13.00% climbing 13%.aa+1

Record Rally in Asia

The optimism spread rapidly to Asia on Friday. South Korea's Kospi posted its largest single-day gain on record, surging nearly 18%, as SK Hynix ↗ 17.52% rocketed about 30% and Samsung Electronics spiked more than 25%. The rally was reinforced by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's disclosure that he had personally purchased SK Hynix shares, and by Seoul's announcement of nearly $14 billion in sovereign wealth fund investments targeting AI and data centres.channelnewsasia+1

Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed over 4%, with Advantest surging nearly 20% and SoftBank gaining sharply. Taiwan's market jumped more than 7%, led by TSMC ↗ 7.64%. In Europe, the pan-European STOXX 600 rose to a record high, with its technology index gaining 2.2%.economictimes+2

Caution Amid Euphoria

Not all analysts are convinced the turbulence is over. "The Korean stock market has been trading as if it has bipolar disorder, swinging from panic to euphoria almost overnight," said Jung In Yun of Fibonacci Asset Management. Paul Gambles of MBMG Family Office Group warned that the sharp rally could be "another violent move within an increasingly unstable market," noting that heavy leverage leaves markets vulnerable to further corrections.cnbc

Apple ↘ 1.41% fell more than 6% in after-hours trading after warning of worsening supply constraints, while Meta ↘ 7.95% declined nearly 8% during Thursday's regular session after its free cash flow disappointed investors. Even after Friday's historic rebound, the Kospi remained down sharply for July — on track for its worst monthly performance since 1997.share-talk+3