Amazon Surge Sends Nasdaq Soaring as Market Sentiment Improves

The US stock market settled higher on Friday, led by Amazon's impressive 15% surge in share value after releasing better-than-expected Q2 results. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1% during the session.

Amazon's strong earnings report overshadowed Apple's quarterly results, which saw a 7% decline in stock price.

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed an improvement in market sentiment, but remained in the 'Fear' zone at 42.5. This measure is based on seven equal-weighted indicators that range from 0 to 100, with 0 representing maximum fear and 100 indicating maximum greediness.

U.S. employment costs increased by 0.9% in Q2, surpassing market estimates of a 0.8% rise. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose to 55.2 in July from a preliminary reading of 54.0.