Microsoft Azure Tops $100B, Futures Rebound Post-Fed

After the ugliest session of the quarter, Wall Street woke up to a lifeline. As detailed in Wednesday's evening review, a divided Federal Reserve delivered a hawkish hold that sent the Dow tumbling 1,153 points and pushed the Nasdaq into correction. Then, after the bell, Microsoft reported a blowout quarter: Azure cloud revenue crossed $100 billion annually for the first time and grew 43 percent, the stock jumped about 7 percent, and S&P 500 futures firmed overnight. Now the market braces for its next twin tests, Apple and Amazon earnings tonight and a morning wall of US data. This is the morning scorecard and the road map into a heavy Thursday. These are events to watch, not instructions to act on any asset.

For the full account of yesterday's Fed rout see our Wednesday evening review, and for the setup into the decision revisit our Wednesday morning analysis.

Microsoft's Blowout Steadies Futures

The relief came from the most important name in the AI trade. Microsoft posted revenue of $90 billion against $87.7 billion expected and adjusted earnings of $4.74 a share versus $4.25 forecast, but the number that mattered was the cloud: Azure grew 43 percent and its annual revenue topped $100 billion for the first time, blowing past the company's own guidance. The stock surged about 7 percent to roughly $418 in extended trading, reversing a small regular-session decline, on accelerating Azure growth, stronger free cash flow and upbeat first-quarter guidance. Coming after a week in which soaring AI capital spending had punished the whole complex, the print reframed that spending as a driver of demand rather than a drag, and helped lift S&P 500 futures back near 7,328, above Wednesday's battered cash close.

The Morning After a Hawkish Hold

The backdrop Microsoft is helping to repair is a grim one. On Wednesday the Fed left its benchmark at 3.50 to 3.75 percent on a 9 to 3 vote, with three officials dissenting in favour of a hike, a rare show of internal worry about inflation. Chair Kevin Warsh's shorter, firmer statement read as hawkish, the bond market flagged the risk of the Fed falling behind, and the 10-year Treasury yield jumped above 4.67 percent. That rise in long yields was the direct trigger for a broad selloff: the Dow fell 1,153 points (-2.19%) to 51,594.14, its worst day since April 2025, the S&P 500 dropped 1.52 percent to 7,316.15, and the Nasdaq slid 1.74 percent into correction. The question this morning is whether corporate strength can offset a market suddenly more worried about rates than growth.

Apple and Amazon Headline Tonight

The earnings gauntlet reaches its climax after today's close, when Apple and Amazon report, the final Magnificent Seven names of the season. For Apple, attention centers on iPhone demand, services growth, the crucial China market, product gross margins and the commercialisation of Apple Intelligence. For Amazon, the swing factor is AWS cloud growth and margins, with analysts eyeing roughly $196.75 billion in quarterly revenue and AWS above $40.49 billion, plus full-year capital-expenditure guidance. Amazon shares had slid about 7.4 percent into the print on worries over AWS profitability. Microsoft's Azure beat sets an encouraging tone, but as Alphabet and Tesla showed last week, it is the capex guidance rather than the headline beat that has been dictating the reaction all season.

A Data Deluge: GDP, Claims and PCE

Before the earnings, the morning brings a wall of macro. The advance reading of second-quarter US GDP lands alongside weekly jobless claims, and, most important after a hawkish Fed, the June PCE price index, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge. Consensus looks for headline PCE near 3.7 percent and the core reading around 3.3 percent year over year, both well above the 2 percent target and precisely the kind of sticky print the dissenting Fed officials fear. A hotter number would validate Wednesday's hawkish lean and could keep upward pressure on yields, while a cooler figure would ease the rate anxiety that drove the selloff. With yields already elevated, this release carries outsized weight for how the week closes.

Oil Holds Its Gains as Gold Stays Firm

Commodities are carrying Wednesday's shifts into Thursday. WTI crude holds near $84.48, consolidating the roughly 6.6 percent surge it logged after President Trump threatened to hit Iran hard, a move that revived the Strait of Hormuz supply premium and fed directly into the day's inflation anxiety. That elevated crude is one reason the PCE print matters so much this morning. Gold sits near $4,037, up about 0.2 percent and comfortably above the $4,000 handle, carrying a steady safe-haven bid without any panic rush, a sign the market's stress is still being expressed through rates and equities rather than a flight into bullion. Energy names retain the tailwind from firmer crude while rate-sensitive sectors stay on the defensive.

Crypto Drifts and the Scenarios Ahead

Digital assets are quietly steady. Bitcoin trades near $63,940, up about 0.3 percent and holding the low $64,000s it defended through the Fed rout, a resilient showing against a 2 percent equity drop. Ether lags near $1,900, off about 1.35 percent, tracking risk more closely. Live levels and ETF-flow data for the top of the market sit on the ThriveInMarkets homepage. $64,000 remains the near-term reference zone; holding above it keeps the short-term structure intact, while $65,000 is the level bulls still need to reclaim. Three broad scenarios frame the day, none a prediction or an instruction to trade. In the relief case, a cool PCE plus solid Apple and Amazon numbers extend the Microsoft bounce. In the hawkish-inflation case, a hot PCE or elevated crude keeps yields rising and pressures risk. In the capex case, disappointing AI guidance from Apple or Amazon reignites the tech selloff regardless of the macro. Follow the play-by-play on Market Insights and the schedule on the economic calendar.

ThriveInMarkets publishes market commentary for general information only and does not provide personal investment advice. Crypto, gold and oil figures are live prints as of 08:00 UTC Thursday, July 30; the S&P 500 figure is Wednesday's cash-session close with futures quoted separately. Dates and times are scheduled events subject to change. Levels and scenarios cited are technical reference points, not instructions to buy or sell any asset.