Daily Briefing — July 31, 2026 | Microsoft's Historic Rally, Apple's Stumble, and a New Suez Canal Scare

Markets close out July with one of the sharpest reversals of the summer, as Microsoft's stock surges 16% on the back of blowout Azure growth, adding a record-setting $450 billion in single-day market value, while Amazon's accelerating cloud revenue fuels a broader tech rebound. We cover Apple's more than 7% slide on weak Services and China revenue, cooler June PCE inflation and softer GDP data that helped ease rate-hike fears just two days after a hawkish Fed decision, and a striking secondary story: crypto-mining-turned-power companies IREN, TeraWulf, and MARA all surging as investors reassess their electricity assets as AI data-center capacity. We also cover new security concerns around Egypt's Suez Canal following a drone attack near Damietta, silver's extraordinary run near $58 an ounce, and Western Union's guidance cut. This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.