Amazon Surges as Apple Plunges Amid Diverging Tech Sector

The U.S. stock market closed out a turbulent month on a high note, but beneath the surface, there was a stark divide between individual stocks.

Amazon's shares surged 17% for the week after a strong earnings report sent its stock soaring. The tech giant's cloud division saw revenue growth of 37% year over year, marking its fastest growth since 2021. Despite raising its capital expenditure forecast for 2026, investors remained optimistic about Amazon's prospects.

On the other hand, Apple suffered its worst single-day performance since April 2025, with shares falling 7%. The decline followed a weaker outlook due to component shortages. This divergence extended across the tech sector, with Microsoft gaining 21.75% and Alphabet rising 11.38%, while Micron fell 10.63% and AMD lost 8.78%.

The contrast was also evident beneath the major indexes. The equal-weighted S&P 500 reached a new record, but a group of high-growth tech and semiconductor stocks fell 25% in July, marking its worst month since May 2009. Large cloud companies outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by a record margin over the week.

The U.S. dollar was the week's weakest major asset, with the DXY index falling 1.3%. Bitcoin also ended the week lower, declining 2.1%, while gold gained 0.9% and silver fell 1.6%.