Good morning. Yesterday the market bounced hard. Overnight, Apple and Amazon reported and went in opposite directions. Today closes out the month.
The Market Gauge
Thursday was a strong rebound, and one company did most of the lifting. The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 2.78% to 25,122.18, the S&P 500 rose 1.66% to 7,437.63, and the Dow gained 1.19% to 52,208.06. Small caps rose 1.4% and climbed back above their 50-day average line. The engine was Microsoft, up 15.5% after Wednesday night's earnings, which dragged chip and AI hardware stocks up with it: one widely held semiconductor fund gained 6.9%. Investor's Business Daily also reported that a heavily leveraged fund betting on AI stocks had liquidated its entire position, which helps explain why the selling earlier in the week was so violent. Bond yields kept rising even on a green day, with the 30-year Treasury at 5.21%, its highest since 2007. Oil eased about 1% to $83.59.
Beginner note: IBD called Thursday day one of a rally attempt, and that phrase is worth borrowing. One strong day does not confirm a turn. The discipline is to wait for a follow-through day, a second strong advance on heavier volume that arrives a few days later, before treating a bounce as a new uptrend. Month 7 covers this properly. For now, notice the useful habit: a big green day is evidence, not proof, and the traders who lose least are the ones who wait for confirmation rather than buying the first bounce.
On today's calendar
Apple and Amazon trade on their numbers. Apple beat on iPhone sales but its services business came in light, and it guided current-quarter revenue low, citing supply constraints. The stock fell in overnight trading. Amazon beat, its cloud division grew 37%, and the stock rose overnight. Two megacaps, same night, opposite reactions.
A quarterly read on wages. The employment cost index, which tracks what employers pay in wages and benefits, is due before the open. With three Fed officials voting for higher rates this week, anything showing wage pressure will get read closely.
Last trading day of July. Month-end often brings extra activity as large funds adjust their holdings to hit target allocations. Moves in the final hour can say more about the calendar than about any company.
On the radar: Quanta Services
$PWR ( ▲ 1.59% ) is a company most people have never heard of that does something easy to picture: it builds and maintains electric power grids. Transmission lines, substations, the physical wiring of the electricity system, including the connections that new data centers need. Yesterday it reported and the stock rose 17.26% to close at $657.98, one of the biggest moves in the market. The report was genuinely strong: adjusted profit per share grew about 71% from the same quarter a year ago, revenue grew about 41% to $9.56 billion, the company raised its guidance for the year, and it reported a record backlog of $53.4 billion in work already booked.
Why it is worth watching: hold two facts side by side. That 71% profit growth clears the 25% bar from last night's lesson with room to spare. And yet, even after a 17% jump, the stock closed roughly 17% below its own 52-week high of $788.75, and IBD notes it ran straight into resistance at its 50-day average line. Both things are true at once. A great earnings report does not mean the chart is ready, and a stock that has already moved 17% in a day is the definition of extended, which is the opposite of a low-risk entry. Tonight's lesson covers the five numbers that actually matter in an earnings report. Quanta just handed you a live one to practice on: backlog is a number most beginners never look at, and for a company that builds things under contract, it may be the most telling figure in the release.
ONE FOR THE ROAD
Quanta reported a record $53.4 billion backlog. In one sentence, why might that number tell you more about the next two years than this quarter's profit did? Reply with your answer.
Educational content only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not predict future results. Read the full financial disclosure.