{"id":65696,"date":"2026-07-30T17:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-giants-rally-on-ai-strength-as-global-tensions-escalate\/65696\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T17:08:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T21:08:18","slug":"tech-giants-rally-on-ai-strength-as-global-tensions-escalate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-giants-rally-on-ai-strength-as-global-tensions-escalate\/65696\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Giants Rally on AI Strength as Global Tensions Escalate"},"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>) surged 16%<\/strong>, adding roughly <strong>$450 billion<\/strong> in market value\u2014its largest single-day gain ever\u2014following a fiscal Q4 blowout driven by <strong>43% Azure growth<\/strong> and a <strong>$3.2 billion gain<\/strong> from its Anthropic investment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) reported record June-quarter revenue of $109.42 billion<\/strong>, beating estimates of $108.85 billion, though shares traded lower in after-hours as <strong>Services revenue ($30.74B)<\/strong> and <strong>Greater China sales ($18.82B)<\/strong> missed analyst targets.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Japanese authorities and the Bank of Japan intervened<\/strong> in the foreign exchange market to support the Yen, causing the currency to surge as the U.S. dollar weakened following the Federal Reserve&#39;s decision to leave interest rates unchanged.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reddit (<a href=\"\/stock\/RDDT\">RDDT<\/a>) executives highlighted a 40% jump in Ads API revenue<\/strong> since Q1, with active advertisers growing over <strong>70% year-over-year<\/strong>, as the company prepares to expand its &quot;Reddit Max&quot; onboarding for small business advertisers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical tensions spiked<\/strong> as a Russian ballistic missile destroyed a U.S.-owned AI drone factory in Kyiv, while Egyptian officials denied claims that Iran was behind a recent drone attack at the <strong>Port of Damietta<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Big Tech Earnings: AI Momentum vs. Segment Weakness<\/h2>\n<p>The &quot;AI trade&quot; returned with a vengeance on Thursday, led by a historic performance from <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>). The software giant&#39;s market capitalization swelled after it reported that <strong>Azure cloud growth accelerated to 43%<\/strong>, easing investor fears regarding the massive capital expenditures required for artificial intelligence. <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock\/MSFT\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"18\" title=\"Stock: MSFT\">Microsoft<\/a> also disclosed it now has over <strong>30 million paid Copilot seats<\/strong>, signaling that its AI software suite is finding significant commercial traction.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) delivered a &quot;beat and fade&quot; report. While the company set June-quarter records for <strong>EPS ($2.02)<\/strong> and operating cash flow, investors focused on soft spots in the report. <strong>iPhone revenue of $54.25 billion<\/strong> beat expectations, but a miss in the high-margin <strong>Services<\/strong> segment and continued pressure in <strong>Greater China<\/strong>\u2014where revenue fell short of the $19.58 billion estimate\u2014weighed on the stock in extended trading.<\/p>\n<h2>Reddit and GoDaddy: Advertising and Small Business Trends<\/h2>\n<p>Reddit (<a href=\"\/stock\/RDDT\">RDDT<\/a>) leadership expressed long-term confidence during their earnings call, noting that more than half of their revenue now stems from <strong>credit line relationships<\/strong>. COO Jen Wong emphasized the strength of the retail and travel verticals, while announcing plans to make <strong>Reddit Max<\/strong> the primary onboarding experience for SMB (small and medium-sized business) advertisers.<\/p>\n<p>GoDaddy (<a href=\"\/stock\/GDDY\">GDDY<\/a>) reported solid second-quarter results with <strong>total bookings of $1.4 billion<\/strong>, but the company provided a cautious outlook. Management narrowed its full-year revenue guidance to a range of <strong>$5.215 billion to $5.255 billion<\/strong> and warned that the third quarter would face a &quot;tough comparison&quot; against last year&#39;s strong aftermarket performance.<\/p>\n<h2>Global Markets: Forex Intervention and Infrastructure<\/h2>\n<p>The Japanese Yen saw its most dramatic surge since 2022 following suspected intervention by the <strong>Bank of Japan<\/strong> and the Ministry of Finance. The move came just a day after the <strong>Federal Reserve<\/strong> held rates steady, creating a window of dollar weakness that Japanese authorities utilized to pull the Yen back from 40-year lows.<\/p>\n<p>In the hardware space, Super Micro Computer (<a href=\"\/stock\/SMCI\">SMCI<\/a>) launched its new <strong>AI rack series<\/strong> under the DCBBS portfolio. The company announced it now has the capacity to deliver up to <strong>3,000 AI racks per month<\/strong>, including 2,000 liquid-cooled units, to meet the skyrocketing demand for high-density data center infrastructure.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Risks: Strikes and Denials<\/h2>\n<p>Security concerns intensified as <strong>The Guardian<\/strong> reported the first known Russian strike on a U.S.-owned company in Ukraine. A ballistic missile destroyed a Kyiv factory owned by <strong>Terminal Autonomy<\/strong>, a Delaware-registered firm producing <strong>AI-guided attack drones<\/strong>. No fatalities were reported, but the incident marks a significant escalation in the targeting of foreign-owned defense assets.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, in the Middle East, Egyptian officials moved to de-escalate tensions following a drone attack on two ships at the <strong>Port of Damietta<\/strong>. Responding to reports from the <strong>Wall Street Journal<\/strong>, Egypt&#39;s Minister of Information denied claims that Cairo believes <strong>Iran<\/strong> was behind the incident, stating that investigations into the source of the drone are ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Microsoft (MSFT) surged 16%, adding roughly $450 billion in market value\u2014its largest single-day gain ever\u2014following a fiscal Q4 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