US Markets today: Stocks hover near records as Big Tech earnings diverge; gold extends blistering rally

Market Overview - The S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1% and is near its all-time high set earlier this week [4][6] - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 162 points, or 0.3% [4][6] - The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%, impacted by losses in large technology stocks [4][6] Company Performance - Microsoft shares fell 10.4% despite reporting stronger-than-expected profit and revenue, as investors were concerned about rising capital expenditure and growth in its Azure cloud business [4][6] - Meta Platforms' stock jumped 8.6% after beating profit expectations, indicating continued heavy investment in AI [4][6] - Tesla traded lower by 0.7% after initially positive results, with CEO Elon Musk urging investors to focus on long-term projects [4][6] - IBM rose 7.1% after exceeding profit and revenue forecasts [5][6] - Southwest Airlines surged 9.7% despite missing profit estimates, driven by a strong outlook for 2026 due to operational changes [5][6] - ServiceNow slid 9.2% even after delivering better-than-expected quarterly profits, as investors trimmed positions following a strong run earlier in the year [5][6] Commodity and Currency Trends - Gold prices increased by 4.5% to $5,579 an ounce, marking a gain of over 25% this year and roughly doubling over the past 12 months [5][6] - The US dollar weakened slightly against major currencies, continuing a broader downtrend [5][6] - Treasury yields remained steady, with the 10-year yield holding at 4.26% [5][6] Economic Context - Markets are digesting the Federal Reserve's decision to pause further interest-rate cuts after three reductions late last year, as inflation remains above the 2% target [5][6] - Stock markets rose across much of Europe and Asia, with South Korea's Kospi gaining 1% to another record, aided by strong advances in chipmaker SK Hynix [5][6]