REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoAug 1 (Reuters) - Tech giants Apple (AAPL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) remained the top two global companies by market capitalisation at the end of July after riding this year's rally in technology shares.
Strong quarterly earnings from companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms (META.O), chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) and chip equipment maker Lam Research (LRCX.O) lifted overall market sentiment last month.
Facebook-owner Meta's market cap jumped more than 10% in July, thanks to the company's rosy revenue forecast and robust ad revenue growth in the second quarter.
Its market cap stood at $2.49 trillion at the end of July.
Refinitiv data shows 69% of large- and mid-cap U.S. companies have surpassed analysts' Q2 earnings estimates so far, with the tech sector accounting for 82% of these positive surprises.
Persons:
Mike Segar, Rush, Dan Ives, JP Morgan Chase's, Patturaja Murugaboopathy, Gaurav Dogra, Susan Fenton
Organizations:
Apple, Grand Central, REUTERS, Tech, Microsoft, Intel, Lam Research, Facebook, Reuters Graphics Microsoft, Wall, First Republic Bank, Thomson
Locations:
New York City, U.S, Bengaluru