Amazon Earnings Boost Stocks; Nasdaq Climbs 1%

Amazon Jumps More Than 15%, Extending Big Tech Rally

U.S. stocks closed higher on Aug. 1 as Amazon's strong earnings revived investor appetite for technology shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 276.97 points, or 0.53%, to 52,485.03 at the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 gained 52.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,489.72, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 251.68 points, or 1.0%, to 25,373.85.

Amazon surged 15.32% after posting a quarterly earnings surprise after the previous session's close. The company said quarterly revenue topped $200 billion for the first time, helped by growth in its cloud business.

Microsoft, which reported earnings a day earlier, said quarterly revenue from its cloud unit rose 43% from a year earlier, the fastest growth since early 2022. Its shares had jumped 15.51% the previous day and gained another 3.02% on Aug. 1.

Apple slid 7.35%, capping the market's gains. In its earnings report a day earlier, the company said revenue growth in the July-September period would be limited by supply constraints, triggering a selloff.

SK Hynix's American depositary receipts fell 3.54% after soaring 17.5% the previous day.

Oil prices rose. The move appeared tied to reports that Iran struck two oil tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, claimed it attacked the two tankers as they passed through the waterway under U.S. military escort.

Brent crude for September delivery settled at $90.12 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, up 1.22% from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery settled at $84.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 1.29%.

Lee Su, Hankyung.com reporter, 2su@hankyung.com