Stock Market News, July 31, 2026: Apple Stock Falls, but Nasdaq Marches Higher

Apple shares tumbled 7.4% on July 31, erasing $358 billion in market capitalization, yet the Nasdaq Composite still closed higher as Amazon's rally offset the iPhone maker's decline. The session highlighted divergence within mega-cap tech, with Amazon's surge—the Wall Street Journal cites it as the primary driver keeping indexes afloat—absorbing what would otherwise have been significant index drag from the second-largest U.S. public company by market value.

The $358 billion single-day loss ranks among the largest absolute dollar declines for any U.S. stock in a single session, yet the Nasdaq's ability to shrug off Apple's weakness underscores the index's breadth and Amazon's outsized influence. Apple's 7.4% drop would typically exert meaningful downward pressure on the tech-heavy composite, given the stock's weighting.

The session demonstrates that concentration risk cuts both ways: while mega-cap weakness can sink indexes, strength in even one or two other giants can override it. Amazon's move—specific magnitude not disclosed in the Journal's report—was sufficient to push the Nasdaq into positive territory despite Apple's historic dollar loss.