Tech rally lifts Wall Street to month high
A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, US, July 19, 2021. PHOTO: REUTERS
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Wall Street's main indexes jumped to around one-month highs on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading gains, as strong quarterly results from heavyweights Microsoft and Meta pointed to a resilient outlook for the technology sector.
Microsoft surged 9% to its highest level since late January, driven by an upbeat quarterly growth forecast for its cloud-computing business Azure. The jump helped the stock surpass Apple to became the world's most valuable company
Meta Platforms gained 5.6% after posting higher-than-expected revenue on the back of a strong advertising performance.
The ongoing tech earnings represent a "critical inflection point" for the market, said Joe Tigay, portfolio manager of Rational Equity Armor Fund.
"Microsoft, Amazon, and their peers aren't just reporting numbers, they're revealing whether businesses are doubling down on cloud and IT or pulling back amid trade wars and economic uncertainty."
The fallout from erratic shifts in US trade policy has been the dominant theme this earnings season, with many companies slashing or withdrawing their profit outlooks. Still, S&P 500 first-quarter earnings are seen growing 12.9% on an annual basis, per LSEG data.
Results from megacaps Amazon.com and Apple are due after markets close. Amazon shares were up 2.9%.
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