NEW YORK, July 31, 2026, 12:09 p.m. EDT
- At 12:01 p.m. EDT, the Dow was up 188.83 points, or 0.36%, at 52,396.89.
- As of 11:56 a.m., five megacap stocks contributed approximately 183 points to the Dow, while the remaining 25 subtracted around 22 points.
- The Russell 2000 dropped 0.91%, as the VIX rose 1.81%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained ground on Friday, lifted by a limited cloud-driven recovery. By 12:01 p.m., it had reached 52,396.89, an increase of 188.83 points. U.S. cash markets stayed open.
The headline appeared stronger than the market’s underlying performance. At 11:56 a.m., five components accounted for around 114% of the index’s rise, while the remaining 25 pulled it down by about 22 points.
At midday, key indexes reflected a divergence, with large-cap stocks and smaller shares moving in opposite directions.
| Gauge | Level | Point move | Move | Time, EDT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 52,396.89 | up 188.83 | up 0.36% | 12:01 p.m. |
| S&P 500 | 7,450.85 | up 13.22 | up 0.18% | 11:53 a.m. |
| Nasdaq Composite | 25,172.46 | up 50.29 | up 0.20% | 11:53 a.m. |
| Russell 2000 | 2,919.36 | down 26.75 | down 0.91% | 11:53 a.m. |
| VIX | 17.40 | up 0.31 | up 1.81% | 11:53 a.m. |
Small-cap stocks declined and volatility increased. Earlier on Friday, decliners on the NYSE led advancers by a ratio of 1.18-to-1. Market action stayed selective.
The Dow’s makeup increased that selectiveness. The index uses price weighting rather than market value weighting. Each $1 change in a component translates to roughly 5.94 points on the Dow.
Early calculations of contributions are based on 11:56 a.m. price quotes. Figures are rounded and may fluctuate rapidly.
| Dow component | Friday move | Dollar move | Estimated Dow points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com NASDAQ:AMZN | gained 13.90% | rose by $32.73 | contributed +194 |
| Apple NASDAQ:AAPL | fell 9.65% | dropped $32.16 | weighed by -191 |
| Alphabet Class A NASDAQ:GOOGL | rose 5.38% | advanced $17.96 | added +107 |
| Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT | increased 2.42% | up $10.94 | lifted by +65 |
| NVIDIA NASDAQ:NVDA | added 0.65% | gained $1.27 | totaled +8 |
| Five-stock net | — | improved $30.73 | net +183 |
| Other 25 components, derived | — | — | shown at -22 |
| Dow total at 11:56 a.m. | rose 0.31% | — | overall +160 |
The estimated points are calculated by multiplying each dollar change by 5.94. Due to rounding, totals might not match exactly.
Amazon’s increase and Apple’s decline nearly offset each other, with a combined addition of just three points. Alphabet and Microsoft contributed approximately 172 points, surpassing the Dow’s total increase of 160 points.
Alphabet became part of the Dow on June 29, taking the place of Verizon Communications NYSE:VZ. The index provider pointed to Alphabet’s greater share price and more diversified operations. The impact of this change was evident on Friday.
Recent company-issued quarterly results account for the top three changes listed in the table. The numbers shown are those provided by the companies, not projections from analysts.
| Company | Quarterly revenue | Year-on-year growth | Main operating signal | Friday move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $200.6 billion | +20% | AWS revenue up 37% | +13.90% |
| Apple | $109.4 billion | +16% | Gross margin at 50.1% | -9.65% |
| Microsoft | $90.0 billion | +18% | Azure sales increased 43% | +2.42% |
Amazon reported a trailing free cash flow outflow of $7.6 billion. Capital expenditures climbed by $66.1 billion compared with the previous year, with the company attributing most of the rise to AI. “AWS is booming,” Chief Executive Andy Jassy said. Amazon
Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, supported that view. “Investors are able to look past the free-cash-flow decline because it is one component,” he said. Reuters
Apple posted double-digit gains, with revenue climbing 16% and diluted earnings per share up 29%. The company’s gross margin benefited from roughly two percentage points thanks to tariff refunds. Shares declined as executives cautioned that supply limitations would impact growth.
Azure revenue at Microsoft increased by 43%, and Microsoft Cloud expanded by 27%. The company’s shares were up 2.42%, contributing roughly 65 points to the Dow.
Friday’s gains were not enough to offset July’s losses. The Dow closed the month 1.01% lower, while the Nasdaq declined by 2.80%. The Philadelphia semiconductor index stayed down over 16.7%.
Bonds continued to face pressure. The yield on the 10-year Treasury hit an intraday peak of 4.737%, a level not seen since January 2025. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept its key rate in the 3.5%-3.75% range. Three policymakers advocated for a 25 basis point hike.
Risks: The Dow’s advance depends on a small number of expensive stocks. Any tech pullback, stricter supply curbs or rising yields could wipe it out fast.
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