03:32 PM EDT, 07/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes soared following a bounce in semiconductors, as investors anchored to Microsoft's ( MSFT ) quarterly results showing AI monetization while awaiting results from Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) after the bell.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.7% to 25,097.2, the S&P 500 was up 1.6% to 7,435.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2% to 52,231.8 ahead of Thursday's close. Technology was the standout gainer, up 5%.

The Microsoft ( MSFT ) intelligent cloud segment's revenue increased 32% to $39.31 billion, buoyed by 43% growth in Azure and other cloud services, according to the company. Analysts expected a 40% year-over-year advance in Azure sales.

"This year, Azure revenue surpassed $100 billion for the first time, and Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365 Copilot reached over 30 million paid seats, reflecting the confidence customers are placing in us to power their (artificial intelligence) transformation," Chief Executive Satya Nadella said in a statement. Shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) soared 17%, one of the top gainers on the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and the Dow.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) , with net assets of $77.2 billion, soared 6.7%, as chipmakers are major beneficiaries of AI-related spend. Investors will watch Amazon's ( AMZN ) AI-related growth in both revenue and spend when it announces quarterly results after the bell.

Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, six of the top 10 gainers in the final leg of trading were from the semiconductors and semiconductor equipment and materials industries, according to data compiled by Finviz.

In economic news, the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index fell 0.1% in June, as expected, cutting the year-over-year rate to 3.7% from 4.1%. The price index rose by 0.5% in May. The core PCE price index climbed 0.1% in June, below the 0.2% gain expected and following a 0.3% growth in May. The year-over-year rate dropped to 3.3% from 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 10-year up 4.5 basis points to 4.67%. The two-year was steady at 4.24%.

Late Wednesday, the US Central Command forces completed a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran in response to Tuesday's attempted missile attacks on US forces, according to CENTCOM. Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted US bases in Kuwait and Jordan following Washington's strikes on Iran, Al Jazeera, a Middle East broadcaster, reported, citing the IRGC.

The front-month US West Texas Intermediate was down 1.1% at $83.55 a barrel, while global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 1.9% to $89.03 a barrel.