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U.S. chip and tech stocks rally as Amazon, Lam Research and Microsoft lift AI sentiment

U.S. chip and tech stocks rally as Amazon, Lam Research and Microsoft lift AI sentiment

The rebound in U.S. semiconductor and AI shares spilled into Tokyo, where chip equipment makers and related technology stocks surged as investors rotated back into oversold names.

Fact Check
The CNBC article directly confirms every element of the claim: Lam Research's jump on upbeat earnings/guidance and AI demand, Microsoft's rise, memory stock gains (Micron, Sandisk), Arm's gain, and a broad semiconductor rebound following a sharp AI-driven sector selloff earlier in the week. Barron's independently corroborates the same-day chip-led rebound with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 6.8% and Lam Research posting double-digit gains. Two independent, credible news sources agree.
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Summary

U.S. technology and semiconductor shares extended their rebound as earnings from Amazon, Microsoft and other large-cap tech companies eased concerns about whether heavy artificial intelligence spending is generating returns, and the move carried into Japan on July 31. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1% to 25,373.85, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 7,489.72 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276.97 points, or 0.53%, to 52,208.06, while the VIX fell 6.44% to 15.99. Amazon shares jumped 15.3% after the company reported second-quarter net sales of $200.6 billion, up 20% from a year earlier, and said Amazon Web Services revenue rose 37% to $42.2 billion, its fastest growth in 18 quarters. The strength in Amazon’s cloud business, alongside Microsoft’s earlier Azure-driven results and Lam Research’s chip-sector boost, helped reassure investors that AI infrastructure demand remains strong. The improved mood spread to Tokyo, where semiconductor and AI-related shares rallied broadly after Microsoft’s strong quarterly results and better-than-expected guidance drove buybacks in U.S. tech on July 30. Kioxia Holdings rose ¥7,000 to ¥46,500, KOKUSAI ELECTRIC gained ¥1,000 to ¥7,422, Advantest climbed ¥4,565 to ¥32,500 and SoftBank Group added ¥638 to ¥5,260, helping lift the Nikkei 225. Lasertec rose ¥4,290 to ¥37,910, Disco rebounded ¥6,610 to ¥58,480 and Ibiden jumped ¥3,000 to ¥16,650 as investors bought oversold semiconductor names. Tokyo trading was also supported by strong U.S. benchmarks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up more than 8% and Intel gaining more than 11%, while the Dow rose 613 points and the Nasdaq advanced 679 points on July 30. June U.S. PCE inflation rose 3.7% from a year earlier, in line with market expectations, helping sentiment by reinforcing views of a resilient economy. Even so, analysts said the Nikkei 225 remained in a downtrend and could meet selling pressure near its 75-day moving average of ¥64,746 as the market tries to recover steep losses from earlier in the week.

Terms & Concepts
  • VIX: A volatility gauge often called Wall Street’s fear index because it tracks expected swings in the U.S. stock market.
  • AI infrastructure: The computing, cloud and chip capacity needed to build and run artificial intelligence systems.
  • Philadelphia Semiconductor Index: A widely watched stock index tracking major semiconductor companies, often used as a barometer for chip-sector sentiment.