U.S. stocks closed strongly higher on Friday, the final trading session of July, as investors shrugged off rising Treasury yields and welcomed a sharp rally in Amazon shares following its earnings report.
The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1% to finish at 25,373.85, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to close at 7,489.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 276.97 points, or 0.53%, ending the day at 52,485.03.
Treasury yields continued to climb, with the 30-year bond yield reaching 5.25%—its highest level since 2007. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield briefly moved above 4.7%, marking its highest level since January 2025.
The rise in yields reflected growing concerns that investors are losing confidence in Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s ability to bring inflation under control. Although Warsh reiterated his commitment to fighting inflation, he acknowledged the challenge by saying, “We’ve got no magic wand.”
Oil prices also moved higher, adding to inflation concerns. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled 1.3% higher at $84.67 per barrel, while Brent crude gained 1.2% to finish at $90.12 per barrel.
Corporate earnings remained the primary driver of market sentiment, particularly among major technology and artificial intelligence companies.
Amazon soared 15% after posting second-quarter revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations, supported by strong growth in its cloud computing division. The results reinforced investor optimism that spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure remains robust.
Apple, however, fell more than 7%. Although the company reported quarterly revenue above expectations, driven by a 22% increase in iPhone sales, weaker-than-expected services revenue disappointed investors and weighed on the stock.
Friday’s gains followed Thursday’s powerful rebound, led by Microsoft, whose shares jumped 16% after stronger-than-expected Azure cloud growth boosted confidence in AI-related investments. The rally came just one day after Wednesday’s sharp sell-off, when the Dow tumbled more than 1,100 points, marking its biggest single-day decline since April 2025.
Despite the week's heightened volatility, Wall Street finished with solid weekly gains. The Dow and S&P 500 each rose about 1% over the week, while the Nasdaq advanced approximately 1.6%.
For the month of July, however, performance was mixed. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, the Nasdaq lost 3.2%, and the Dow edged up 0.3%, extending its winning streak to a fourth consecutive positive month.
