Nasdaq Rebounds on Microsoft's Cloud Strength While Dow Stagnates, AI Fund Deleverages

The Nasdaq 100 rallied nearly 3% on Thursday to around 27,950, recovering sharply from a two-month low of 27,200 hit in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average barely budged, gaining roughly 200 points to 51,800, highlighting a stark divergence in market leadership.

The Microsoft Effect

The Nasdaq's rebound was fueled almost entirely by Microsoft's 15% surge on strong cloud growth, which also lifted the semiconductor complex by over 8%. Meanwhile,...