AI Stock Frenzy: Tech Titans Shatter Records Amid Earnings Blowouts and Bold Moves (July 30–31, 2025)
Major U.S. indices vaulted to record highs as investor enthusiasm around AI ignited a tech rally. On July 31, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surged after blockbuster Big Tech earnings, even as inflation data and Fed caution typically might have cooled risk appetite reuters.com nbcrightnow.com. Microsoft stock leapt about 5%, propelling the company past a $4 trillion market cap milestone – a level previously reached only by AI-chip superstar Nvidia reuters.com. Meta Platforms jumped 12% to an all-time high after crushing earnings and issuing an upbeat forecast, crediting AI-driven ad targeting for unexpectedly strong revenue growth reuters.com. Nvidia also extended gains, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite pushed above its prior record close nbcrightnow.com. This AI-fueled rally unfolded despite macro headwinds. The day prior, Fed Chair Jerome Powell had doused hopes of imminent rate cuts, holding interest rates steady and warning that sticky inflation left little room to ease policy reuters.com nbcrightnow.com. Normally, such signals would send investors scurrying from high-valuation tech stocks. But as one strategist noted, “strong earnings results from some of the leading US tech companies have kept sentiment strong, allowing markets to make new gains” even in the face of higher-for-longer rates nbcrightnow.com. In other words, AI