Finance

Shares of Microsoft surged roughly 15% to 17% following stronger-than-expected quarterly results, fueled by robust growth in its Azure cloud business. The positive artificial intelligence spending signals injected strong momentum into chipmakers, sparking a massive sector recovery. Major semiconductor players like Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices each jumped more than 13% as investors flooded back into tech leaders.

Gross domestic product figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the U.S. economy grew at a cooler-than-expected annualized rate of 1.5%. While personal consumer spending remained relatively strong with a 2.1% increase, the overall headline deceleration was primarily driven by dips in federal government spending and corporate inventories. The mixed data reinforces underlying macroeconomic uncertainty as investors weigh growth constraints against persistent inflation.

Spot gold prices jumped more than 2% to cross the $4,100 per troy ounce threshold following the Federal Reserve's pause on interest rates. The precious metal is finding strong two-way support as intensifying geopolitical conflicts involving the U.S. and Iran boost its safe-haven appeal. Despite an aggressive monetary stance from the central bank, analysts predict near-term resilience for the commodity amid escalating global market tensions.