{"id":65674,"date":"2026-07-30T10:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-surge-as-microsoft-leads-ai-relief-rally-nato-on-alert-after-missile-incident\/65674\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T10:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T14:08:15","slug":"global-markets-surge-as-microsoft-leads-ai-relief-rally-nato-on-alert-after-missile-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-surge-as-microsoft-leads-ai-relief-rally-nato-on-alert-after-missile-incident\/65674\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Surge as Microsoft Leads AI Relief Rally; NATO on Alert After Missile Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>) shares jumped 12%<\/strong>, their largest one-day gain since 2020, after reporting fiscal Q4 revenue of <strong>$90 billion<\/strong> and record <strong>Azure cloud growth of 43%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>US Core PCE inflation cooled to 0.13% month-over-month in June<\/strong>, the mildest gain since early 2025, bringing the 12-month rate to <strong>3.3%<\/strong> and easing pressure on the Federal Reserve.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NATO and Poland activated air defenses<\/strong> after a Russian <strong>Kh-101 cruise missile<\/strong> violated Polish airspace and crashed near the village of Tarnawa-Kolonia; no casualties were reported.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spot <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">Gold<\/a> surged 1% to a record $4,103.67\/oz<\/strong> as geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East drove a flight to safety.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Japanese Yen surged nearly 1.5%<\/strong> against the dollar, sparking intense speculation of a direct market intervention by the Ministry of Finance to defend the currency.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Microsoft and AI Optimism Drive Market Rebound<\/h2>\n<p>Wall Street indices opened sharply higher on Thursday, led by a massive rally in technology shares. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/sp500\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"snp500 today\">S&amp;P 500<\/a><\/strong> rose 0.92% to <strong>7,383.21<\/strong>, while the <strong>Nasdaq<\/strong> climbed 1.54% to <strong>24,818.38<\/strong> in early trading.<\/p>\n<p>The primary catalyst was <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>), which quelled fears about AI monetization by reporting that <strong>Azure revenue crossed $100 billion<\/strong> for the full fiscal year. While Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>) saw its price target cut to <strong>$830<\/strong> by HSBC due to rising capex concerns, the broader market focused on <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a>&#39;s ability to translate AI investment into commercial returns, with over <strong>30 million paid Copilot seats<\/strong> now active.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Tensions Escalate in Poland<\/h2>\n<p>Security concerns dominated European headlines as NATO confirmed a <strong>Russian Kh-101 missile<\/strong> entered Polish territory during a massive overnight strike on Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister <strong>Donald Tusk<\/strong> stated that while the missile landed in an uninhabited area, the incident demonstrates Russia\u2019s &quot;recklessness and willingness to escalate.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>In response, NATO scrambled <strong>Polish F-16s<\/strong> and surveillance aircraft to monitor the situation. This violation of NATO airspace, combined with ongoing conflict in the Middle East, propelled <strong>Spot Gold<\/strong> to an all-time high of <strong>$4,103.67 per ounce<\/strong>, as investors sought protection against regional instability.<\/p>\n<h2>Inflation Data and Fed Outlook<\/h2>\n<p>New economic data provided a &quot;realist&quot; path for Federal Reserve Chair <strong>Kevin Warsh<\/strong>. The <strong>June Core PCE Price Index<\/strong>, the Fed\u2019s preferred inflation gauge, rose just <strong>0.13%<\/strong>, meeting expectations and signaling that price pressures are continuing to ease.<\/p>\n<p>White House Advisor <strong>Kevin Hassett<\/strong> noted that the data makes the Fed&#39;s job &quot;easier,&quot; suggesting that the current restrictive policy is successfully cooling the economy without triggering a recession. However, <strong>Q2 GDP<\/strong> grew at an annualized rate of <strong>1.5%<\/strong>, missing the <strong>2.1%<\/strong> forecast, which added to the downward pressure on the US Dollar and fueled the Yen&#39;s rapid appreciation.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy Markets and Shell Results<\/h2>\n<p>Shell (<a href=\"\/stock\/SHEL\">SHEL<\/a>) reported a strong second-quarter profit of <strong>$9.84 billion<\/strong>, driven by its integrated gas and trading divisions. CEO <strong>Wael Sawan<\/strong> announced the company is targeting a Final Investment Decision (FID) for <strong>LNG Canada Phase 2<\/strong> by the end of this year.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the strong earnings, <strong>WTI Crude<\/strong> fell toward <strong>$83\/bbl<\/strong> as traders weighed cooling US demand against supply risks. Shell&#39;s CFO warned of continued <strong>tightness in the LNG market<\/strong> for the coming quarter, noting that more volumes are being redirected from Asia to Europe to meet shifting global demand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Microsoft (MSFT) shares jumped 12%, their largest one-day gain since 2020, after reporting fiscal Q4 revenue of $90 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