The U.S. stock market ended a turbulent month with gains, but the broader rally masked a sharp divide between individual stocks. Amazon (AMZN) surged 15% on Friday after a strong earnings report, while Apple (AAPL) plunged 7%. Bitcoin (BTC) also ended the week lower, losing about 2%.
The past week highlighted a growing split across financial markets. Some companies reached fresh records, while others suffered their steepest declines in years.
Amazon Surges as Apple Suffers Its Worst Drop Since 2025
According to analysts at Global Markets Investor, Amazon was the week’s strongest performer. The company’s shares jumped 15% on Friday after revenue from Amazon Web Services rose 37% year over year, marking its fastest growth since 2021. AMZN finished the week up approximately 17%.
Investors remained optimistic despite Amazon raising its capital expenditure forecast for 2026. The higher spending plan did little to weaken demand for the stock as traders focused on accelerating cloud growth.
Apple moved in the opposite direction. Its shares fell 7% on Friday and 7.24% for the week, marking the company’s worst single-day performance since April 2025. The decline followed a weaker outlook linked to component shortages.
The divergence extended across the technology sector. Microsoft gained approximately 21.75% during the week, while Alphabet rose 11.38%. Meanwhile, Micron fell 10.63% and AMD lost 8.78%.
The contrast was also visible beneath the major indexes. The equal-weighted S&P 500, which gives every company the same influence, reached a new record. At the same time, a group of high-growth technology and semiconductor stocks fell 25% in July, marking its worst month since May 2009.
Large cloud companies delivered the strongest gains and outperformed the Nasdaq 100 by a record margin over the week. However, the move came as investors continued using options and other hedges to protect against potential losses.
Dollar Weakens as Bitcoin and Silver Fall
The U.S. dollar was the week’s weakest major asset. The DXY index fell 1.3%, its largest weekly decline in more than three months, as investors questioned whether the Federal Reserve was doing enough to control inflation.
Bitcoin also finished the week lower, declining 2.1%. Gold gained 0.9%, while silver fell 1.6%.
Major U.S. stock indexes still closed the week in positive territory. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones each rose about 1%, while the Nasdaq gained 1.6%. The Russell 2000 ended the week almost unchanged.
Market volatility also eased. The VIX fear index fell approximately 6%, suggesting that investor anxiety declined after a turbulent month.
Overall, the week delivered a mixed picture. Major indexes advanced, but the gains were highly uneven, with some companies reaching new highs while others recorded their steepest losses in years.