Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq give up gains as 10-year yield surges, Big Tech's AI spending ramps up

Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq give up gains as 10-year yield surges, Big Tech's AI spending ramps up

Grace O'Donnell · Editor, Special Projects

Updated Fri, July 31, 2026 at 5:35 PM GMT+3 2 min read

US stocks reversed course on Friday morning, after the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) jumped to its highest level since January 2025 and Big Tech giants reported continued investments in artificial intelligence.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.4%, after rising as much as 1% following a jump in South Korea's KOSPI (^KS11) index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) declined by 0.4%.

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Stocks' modest gains crumbled as investors sold 10-year Treasurys, pushing the 10-year yield to 4.73%, its highest in over a year, as investors continue to assess the Fed's decision to hold rates steady with a lack of forward guidance.

Following Microsoft's (MSFT) historic 15% stock rally, shares of Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) also swung after delivering earnings on Thursday. Amazon stock jumped 13% after its earnings beat expectations and its chip business expanded, while Apple stock fell 9%, as its Services and China revenue came up short.

The latest quarterly results from the "Magnificent Seven" companies showed that Big Tech continues to invest in AI, reassuring tech investors who had grown fearful of a slowdown in AI and higher interest rates. The four hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft, Meta (META), and Alphabet) forecast spending $720 billion to $745 billion cumulatively on capital projects in 2026.

Also on the earnings front, a slew of oil companies, including ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), reported windfalls in Q2, as the US-Iran war and the subsequent energy shock have kept oil prices elevated. However, scheduled maintenance costs ate into Exxon's bottom line, leading earnings to miss expectations.

Oil prices turned higher as traffic in the Strait of Hormuz began to falter following a recent reescalation in hostilities. US benchmark WTI crude futures (CL=F) last traded at around $84 per barrel, and global benchmark Brent (BZ=F) futures rose to nearly $88 per barrel.

Higher energy and gas prices have weighed on consumers' budgets, contributing to depressed sentiment. However, the latest check on how Americans are feeling from the University of Michigan showed a broad pickup in sentiment.