01:35 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 rose amid a bounce in semiconductors as investors anchored to Microsoft's ( MSFT ) quarterly results showing AI monetization and a closely watched inflation gauge fell in June.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.6% to 25,069.1, the S&P 500 was up 1.5% to 7,424.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.1% to 52,152.7 after midday Thursday. Technology was the standout gainer, up 5%, while communication services led the decliners.

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.

Arm (ARM) jumped 6.2% after the semiconductor group reported a fiscal Q1 beat for adjusted earnings and revenue.

Meta Platforms ( META ) slumped 9%, one of the worst performers on the Nasdaq. The firm provided a soft Q3 revenue outlook following an unexpected decline in quarterly earnings, while it raised the lower end of its capital expenditure guidance.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF ( SMH ) , with net assets of $77.2 billion, soared 6.8%, as chipmakers are major beneficiaries of AI-related spend. Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, seven of the top 10 gainers after midday Thursday 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.

An advance BEA reading of gross domestic product showed 1.5% growth in Q2, after a 2.1% increase in Q1 and missing the 2.0% gain forecast in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

US initial jobless claims rose sequentially to 197,000 in the week ended July 25 from an upwardly revised 188,000, versus expectations for an increase to 200,000 in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. The four-week moving average, however, fell 5,000 to 202,750, the US Labor Department reported.

US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 10-year up 3.7 basis points to 4.66%. The two-year fell 1.5 basis points to 4.22%.

In precious metal markets, gold futures jumped 1.8% to $4,107.5, and silver futures advanced 1.5% to $58.94.

The front-month US West Texas Intermediate was down 0.7% at $83.84 a barrel, while global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 1.5% to $89.38 a barrel.

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 a CENTCOM statement.

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.

A drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday raised the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, one of the last remaining export routes for Saudi oil, Reuters reported.