Amazon Leaps, Apple Sinks as Oil Prices Rise and Inflation Worries Continue

Wall Street's wild July is ending on a high note, but the volatility of the past month has left investors cautious about the future. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to finish the month with a tiny loss, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276 points and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1%. Amazon led the market with a 15.3% leap after reporting stronger-than-expected profits for its latest quarter.

The company's cloud computing business saw significant growth, which analysts say could be a sign that Amazon's massive investments in artificial intelligence are paying off. This news sent chip companies soaring, but Micron Technology swung sharply from a 6.4% gain to a loss of 5.9% before the day ended.

Apple dropped 7.4% despite reporting stronger profits for its latest quarter than expected. However, the company's revenue growth forecast fell short of expectations due to supply chain issues related to the AI boom. Rising oil prices also worsened worries about inflation staying high, pushing the price for a barrel of Brent crude up 1.2% to $87.93.