Microsoft led the stock market rebound Thursday with a 10% gain after reporting exceptional Azure cloud acceleration and Copilot reaching 30 million seats. Meta Platforms tumbled 9% despite a strong core advertising business, as investors focused on its 91% collapse in free cash flow to $784 million and increased AI capital expenditure. Starbucks surged 6% following its best earnings night, with 7.9% comparable sales growth in both US and global markets driven by transaction volume growth. Inflation remains a major concern as Core PCE hit 3.3% year-over-year in June, well above the Fed’s 2% target, fueling bond market fears and boosting September rate hike odds above 60%. Chipotle gained 8% with its best comparable sales growth in six quarters, despite a 2 percentage point drag from a cyclospora outbreak in July.
Source: Read the original article
