Stocks End Wild Month on High Note Despite Inflation Concerns
US stocks finished July on a high note despite concerns over inflation and rising oil prices. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% after a wild month of trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1%. Amazon led the market with a 15.3% surge after reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter.
The tech giant's profit more than tripled from a year earlier, thanks in part to growth in its cloud computing business. This has sparked hopes that Amazon's significant investments in artificial intelligence technology may be paying off.
Other chip companies also saw significant swings, with Micron Technology dropping 5.9% despite an early jump of 6.4%. Apple, meanwhile, fell 7.4% despite reporting stronger profits than expected.