Stock Index

Nasdaq 100 futures (NQU26) rose 1.12% in early trading after Amazon’s Q2 results beat expectations and AWS posted a fifth straight quarter of faster revenue growth. Storage-chip names also surged, with SanDisk up about 26% and Micron Technology up more than 18%, supporting broader strength in AI infrastructure-linked stocks. The move directly lifted Nasdaq 100 index futures and related constituents.

Amazon shares jumped 12% in premarket trading after strong cloud revenue growth helped ease worries about returns on AI investment. Apple fell 7.3% after warning that supply constraints would weigh on growth, reviving concerns about how an expected iPhone price hike could affect demand. Nasdaq 100 E-minis led U.S. stock-index futures higher, up 1.12%, with chipmakers such as Nvidia and Micron also climbing.

Strong results from Microsoft and Amazon helped push the Nasdaq up nearly 3% for the week, sparking a historic rebound in South Korea’s KOSPI. South Korea’s government said it would inject almost US$14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund for AI investment and data-centre construction. SK Hynix jumped 30% in a single session after SK Group Chair Chey Taewon bought about US$3 million of the company’s shares in a personal capacity.

South Korea’s KOSPI has seen record-level volatility, leaving investor sentiment split between euphoria and anxiety. Foreign investors bought more than 7 trillion won of shares in a week, even as securities-firm client cash fell by more than 32 trillion won over two months and bank deposits rose by more than 24 trillion won in a month, suggesting a shift back toward lower-risk assets. Forced liquidations triggered by a sharp market drop reached 61.1 billion won on Wednesday, more than quadrupling and highlighting the fragility of leveraged bets.

Net inflows into Europe’s ETF market reached €221.7 bn in the first half of 2026, putting the industry on track for a new annual record. January and February brought in €48.2 bn and €48.7 bn respectively, each surpassing the previous monthly high of €39.6 bn set in October 2025. Inflows eased to €10.5 bn in March, the lowest monthly total so far in 2026. The figures point to sustained allocations to European equity exposure that closely tracks major regional indices and broad-market ETFs.

Nigeria’s stock market fell for a second straight session, wiping N1.005 trillion in market value on Thursday and pushing total capitalisation down to N158.339 trillion. Tripple Gee led decliners with a 10 per cent drop, while several other stocks also posted steep losses. Trading activity jumped, with turnover rising to N230.83 billion, up 177.01 per cent from the previous session. The move underscored renewed short-term downside pressure on the NGX All-Share Index (ASI).

Nifty 50 companies’ share of aggregate profits in the Nifty 500 fell to 51% in FY26 from 87% in FY18. Over the same period, their share of total NSE-listed market capitalisation declined to 40.5% from 62.3% in FY14. The shift indicates earnings growth is spreading from megacaps to mid- and small-cap listed companies, weakening the Nifty 50’s traditional dominance while lending relative support to broader indices such as the Nifty 500.

Indian equities opened higher on July 31, with the S&P BSE SENSEX closing at 77,928.15, up 0.035%, and the NSE NIFTY50 ending at 24,317.15, up 0.28%. US stocks rose across the board, led by a 2.8% jump in the Nasdaq, after Microsoft’s shares strengthened and lifted sentiment in global chip stocks. Asia traded higher with South Korea’s KOSPI up 14% and Japan’s Nikkei up 4%, while China A-shares and Hong Kong stocks moved in different directions. The article notes that Swiggy’s financial figures are in consumer tech and are not a direct driver of the major equity indices.

South Korea’s Kospi index surged 15.3% on Friday to 6,447.10, marking one of its biggest one-day gains on record. The rally was driven by a rebound in U.S. AI chip-linked stocks, including Micron Technology, up 18.36%, and Lam Research, up 17.98%. In Seoul, Samsung Electronics rose 21.5% and SK Hynix climbed 25.6%. The move was attributed to an “AI-related stock rebound” and a rise tracking Wall Street’s gains.

On July 30, 2026, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) fell 1.52%, pressured by its heavy exposure to information technology. The slide coincided with a semiconductor selloff after China’s state-backed memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Investors also reacted after three Federal Reserve officials publicly backed an immediate rate increase, adding pressure on tech shares. Nvidia accounts for 7.51% of VOO, while Micron fell more than 8% and Lam Research (LRCX), KLA (KLAC) and AMD also declined.