Nasdaq Index: Bond Yields Test Amazon-Led Tech Rally as Apple Slides

Stocks Whipsaw as Bond Yields Fight the Earnings Rally

The bond market is not letting stocks enjoy the earnings. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 opened with a strong bid Friday after Amazon extended Thursday’s Microsoft-led technology rebound, but Treasury yields pushed higher and took the first rally apart. The 30-year hit near 5.26%, the highest since 2007, and the 10-year pushed above 4.7%. Buyers stepped back in after the selling failed to gain traction, but the session has turned into a tug of war between cloud earnings and the long end of the curve.

At 16:02 GMT, the Nasdaq Composite is trading 25,202.069, up 79.892 or 0.32%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 52,403.67, up 195.61 or 0.37%. The S&P 500 Index is trading 7,457.05, up 19.42 or 0.26%.

Apple is down more than 9% and keeping the Nasdaq from turning the rebound into a clean session. The semiconductor group is running again. The whipsaw is the story.

Amazon and Microsoft Keep the Chip Trade Alive

Amazon is up about 11% after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter revenue on cloud strength. Microsoft delivered the same answer Thursday with Azure growth beating forecasts. The chip group is getting the follow-through.

Technically, Amazon is trading within striking distance of a pair of recent tops at $274.75 and $278.56 after gapping over the 50-day moving average at $246.62, a 50% level at $252.06 and the July 16 main top at $258.08. The bullish move may have been tipped by the subtle regaining of the 200-day moving average at $235.01 on July 30.

Today’s price action has left Amazon shares well above support but still below resistance, making the stock vulnerable to sharp swings.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF is up 5.4% Friday after gaining 8.5% Thursday, its strongest session since April 2025. Micron and AMD are leading the advance. That is two consecutive sessions of aggressive buying in a group that had been sold for six straight days before Microsoft reported. The market is not treating the AI buildout as broken. It is treating it as a trade where the names that show revenue get bought and the names that do not get punished.

Apple Keeps the Nasdaq From Breaking Free

Apple is down more than 9% after fiscal third-quarter revenue topped expectations but services missed and supply constraints clouded the current quarter outlook. iPhone sales jumped 22% and the market looked right past it. Apple is one of the largest weights in the Nasdaq and the selling in that single name is absorbing gains across several chip stocks.

Technically, Apple gapped lower on Friday. The move took it from the all-time high at $344.57 on Wednesday to below the 50-day moving average at $309.35.

The short-term range is the June 25 bottom at $273.75 to the July 29 top at $344.57. The stock is currently sitting inside its 50% to 61.8% retracement zone at $309.16 to $300.80, respectively.

It’s a tough call for investors. Although it is trading potential support, the move below the 50-day MA may have taken out short-term momentum. If the selling resumes through $300.80, then the near-term target becomes the 200-day moving average at $277.92.

Meta is still being sold after Wednesday night’s miss. The market wants to see AI spending convert to revenue. Microsoft and Amazon showed it. Apple had a different problem, but weak guidance gave sellers the same excuse. The Nasdaq looks stronger below the surface than the headline number suggests, but Apple’s weight is keeping the index from showing it.

The 30-Year at 5.26% Is Becoming a Sentiment Problem

The Fed held Wednesday. The bond market did not get the message. Long-dated yields are rising because traders see inflation risk staying in the system while Warsh waits for more data. Three officials wanted a hike. The 30-year is trading like more are going to agree with them before the year is over.

Higher yields hit growth-stock valuations first, and that is why the Nasdaq had trouble holding the morning bid even with Amazon up 11% and the chip group running. The market can handle elevated rates when earnings are delivering. It gets harder when yields keep pushing higher with crude still firm and the Fed leaving September wide open.

The employment cost index did not help. Compensation rose 0.9% in the second quarter, above the 0.8% estimate, with annual growth at 3.4%. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 55.2 and beat the 54.0 forecast, while one-year inflation expectations fell to 4.2%, the lowest since March. The consumer is not panicking. Wage pressure is not easing either. That is the split the Fed is dealing with and the bond market is not waiting for Warsh to sort it out.

Daily Nasdaq Composite Technical Analysis

The Nasdaq Composite Index is whipsawing at the mid-session after completing a partial retracement of the short-term break from 26316.81 to 24425.34. The first upside target is 25371.08 to 25594.27. Today’s intraday high hit 25457.46 before pulling back.

The swing chart top at 26316.81 and the 50-day moving average at 25945.46 indicate the main trend is down. Trader reaction to the retracement zone at 25371.08 to 25594.27 could determine whether the rally extends to meet the 50-day MA, or collapses back toward 24425.34 and the 200-day moving average at 23997.44.

What to Watch

The Dow and S&P 500 are on track for weekly gains. The Nasdaq is heading for a gain of about 1.2% but is still on course for a monthly loss. Amazon and Microsoft gave the chip group a reason to stop falling and two sessions of aggressive buying says the market heard them. Apple’s 9% decline and the 30-year above 5.26% are the reasons the index cannot turn that into a clean breakout.

The Nasdaq hit the first retracement target zone on Friday’s high before pulling back, and whether the rally extends toward the 50-day or collapses back to the lows depends on whether yields settle down next week. The earnings are doing their job. The bond market is fighting them. If the 10-year and 30-year keep climbing, sellers come back into growth stocks regardless of how strong the cloud numbers look. The rate picture has to cooperate before this bounce becomes anything more than a two-day recovery inside a downtrend.