Microsoft Lifts Stocks as US Economy Shows Signs of Resilience

US stocks rebounded on Thursday after a sharp decline in the previous session, driven by Microsoft's better-than-expected quarterly results. The tech giant's shares surged 15% as Azure cloud revenue exceeded expectations and the company projected current-quarter sales above Wall Street estimates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 239 points, or 0.46%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.91%. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.68%, recovering some of Wednesday's losses triggered by the Federal Reserve's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

Despite the encouraging signs, investors remain focused on the Federal Reserve's next policy move, with a 64% probability assigned to a 25-basis-point interest rate increase at the central bank's September meeting. The previous trading session saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall more than 1,100 points, while the Nasdaq 100 entered correction territory.

Corporate earnings have generally remained resilient, with nearly half of S&P 500 companies having reported second-quarter results and 85.2% exceeding analyst profit expectations. Among other movers, cybersecurity company Fortinet gained after raising its annual revenue forecast, while Starbucks advanced after increasing its full-year sales and profit outlook.