U.S. stocks ended Friday on a positive note for the three major indexes. After the market close, U.S. officials stated that President Trump has ordered a new round of attacks on Iran, aiming to force Tehran into submission. The operation could begin as early as this weekend and is expected to last several days. U.S. officials indicated that Trump is considering a high-intensity two-week air campaign to degrade Iran's missile capabilities, though military advisors have warned that dwindling ammunition stockpiles could pose a risk. Some U.S. officials believe Iran may continue to stall negotiations, hoping Trump will eventually abandon a prolonged military campaign due to rising domestic political pressure.
Friday marked the final trading day of July. For the month, the S&P 500 fell approximately 0.13%, the Nasdaq dropped 3.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a gain of 0.32%.
U.S. Stocks
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones rose 276.97 points, or 0.53%, to 52,485.03. The Nasdaq climbed 251.68 points, or 1.00%, to 25,373.85. The S&P 500 added 52.09 points, or 0.70%, to 7,489.72. Technology and chip-related stocks had a mixed session. Amazon (AMZN.US) surged 15.32%, while Google (GOOG.US) rose 6.73%. Nvidia (NVDA.US) gained 2.93%, Meta Platforms (META.US) increased 3.28%, and Microsoft (MSFT.US) was up 3.02%. Apple (AAPL.US) fell 7.35%, and SpaceX (SPCX.US) declined 3.41%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 1.48%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) up 5.12% and Baidu (BIDU.US) gaining 3.38%.
European Markets
Germany's DAX 30 index gained 68.42 points, or 0.27%, to 25,642.92. The UK's FTSE 100 fell 21.08 points, or 0.19%, to 10,876.19. France's CAC 40 rose 24.00 points, or 0.28%, to 8,509.64. The Euro Stoxx 50 index added 14.95 points, or 0.24%, to 6,359.35. Spain's IBEX 35 index rose 15.58 points, or 0.08%, to 19,773.28. Italy's FTSE MIB index increased 52.62 points, or 0.10%, to 52,157.00.
Asian Markets
Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged over 4%, while South Korea's KOSPI index jumped nearly 18%.
U.S. Dollar Index
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.05% on the day, settling at 99.917 at the close of foreign exchange trading. At the New York close, the euro traded at $1.1531, down from $1.1535 in the previous session. The British pound was at $1.3482, up from $1.3476. The dollar bought 158.90 Japanese yen, down from 158.93 yen. The dollar was at 0.8082 Swiss francs, up from 0.8040 francs. The dollar traded at 1.4019 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3996. The dollar fetched 9.5193 Swedish kronor, up from 9.5189. The Japanese yen strengthened sharply against the dollar in the New York market on the 31st, briefly reaching the mid-157 yen range. It was reported that the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan conducted yen-buying intervention for the second consecutive day, following similar action on the 30th.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin was hovering near the $63,000 level. Ethereum showed little movement, trading at $1,863.57.
Crude Oil
Light sweet crude oil for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.08, or 1.29%, to settle at $84.67 per barrel. Brent crude oil for September delivery increased $1.09, or 1.22%, to close at $90.12 per barrel.
Precious Metals
Spot gold fell 1.43% to $4,044.27 per ounce. Spot silver dropped 2.44% to $57.578 per ounce.
Macro News
Reports indicate that the U.S. and Israel are planning to expand military operations against Iran, with energy infrastructure potentially becoming a key target. The plan reportedly involves what could be "one of the most intense bombing campaigns" against Iran's energy facilities, potentially including power plants and refineries, and could last throughout the weekend. Sources say Israel has been notified and is coordinating with the U.S., but President Trump has not yet given final approval. The proposal was reportedly discussed during Trump's cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, with some White House political aides strongly opposing it due to concerns about the potential impact on the U.S. and global economy. Trump stated, "We are going to hit them very hard." The U.S. has also discussed cutting off electricity to Tehran but has not yet decided. Trump had previously stated that for every attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would bomb an Iranian bridge or power plant. Implementing this action would mean Israel resuming military operations that were paused due to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
Federal Reserve Chair John Warsh is reportedly considering reducing the frequency of the Fed's policy meetings. This potential move could cause a major stir and would mark a significant change in the Fed's operational procedures in recent years. Currently, the Fed's 12-member Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds eight scheduled meetings per year to vote on raising, lowering, or maintaining borrowing costs. According to four sources, Warsh raised the possibility of adjusting the meeting schedule during this week's Fed assembly. Sources say Warsh discussed the legal requirements for the minimum number of meetings the Fed must hold annually and the timeline for such an adjustment. He reportedly asked officials to provide feedback rather than engaging in a full discussion of the meeting calendar during this week's session.
OpenAI investigators have reportedly discovered more instances of AI agents breaching their isolation environments. Two sources have indicated that as OpenAI expanded its investigation into a hack of the tech company Hugging Face, additional cases of autonomous AI agents breaking out of containment were found. These new breakthroughs were discovered during OpenAI's public investigation into how an AI agent escaped what was supposed to be a sealed testing environment earlier this month. The sources say the impact of these breakthroughs is limited, and no AI agent is believed to have left OpenAI's internal network. The expanded investigation, which has not been previously reported, was launched shortly before OpenAI's main competitor, Anthropic, disclosed that its own models had led to a series of intrusion incidents dating back to April, resulting in data breaches at three other companies. An OpenAI spokesperson, citing a previous statement, said the company is reviewing "broader model-related activity" in addition to the Hugging Face intrusion.
Stock Highlights
Amazon Lifts Market, Alleviating AI Concerns, as Major U.S. Indices Close Higher. U.S. stocks rallied on Friday, buoyed by Amazon (AMZN.US). The tech giant's strong quarterly earnings report boosted investor confidence in AI-related stocks, while Apple (AAPL.US) saw its shares fall as its earnings report disappointed investors. Amazon shares surged over 15% after the company reported its largest quarterly revenue increase in over four years. The report, along with a similar one from Microsoft earlier in the week, helped ease investor worries about potentially excessive spending on AI data centers. Throughout the month, concerns that massive investments in AI infrastructure might take too long to pay off shook global markets, raising questions about the core companies that have driven Wall Street gains in recent years. Jake Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management, said, "There were fears that Amazon's spending was just a 'moonshot' venture, an irresponsible bet. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy just alleviated those concerns." Meanwhile, Apple shares plunged 7.4% after the company warned that supply constraints would impact growth, fueling concerns that recent price increases for iPhones would dampen consumer demand.
Analyst Ratings
UBS Group: Raised its price target for Amazon (AMZN.US) from $305 to $318.
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