US stocks trade mixed

On Friday, the market opened mixed as investors wrapped up the final trading day of July with positive quarterly updates from tech giants Apple and Amazon. However, inflation remained a concern as the Fed's preferred gauge was close to a four-decade high.

The Nasdaq Composite, which focuses on technology, increased thanks to stock gains for Apple and Amazon. After second-quarter sales of $121.2 billion exceeded forecasts, the online retailer provided a positive outlook for third-quarter sales. Meanwhile, the iPhone maker claimed that it battled through a difficult operating environment to maintain quarterly sales targets.

"A better-than-feared earnings picture is providing a lift and thus far justifying the July rally in stocks," Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, told Insider in emailed comments.

The PCE inflation reading for June came in at 0.6 percent month over month, hotter than the Econoday estimate of 0.5 percent, which hurt the Dow's daily performance on Friday. The Dow was also on track to win in July. The 4.8 percent annual rate was the highest since 1983.

"While the economy will likely need to slow further for Fed to reach its inflation goals, market is already pricing a 2023 pivot at Fed," said Mayfield. "In the end, inflation needs to comply, and market could see a re-test of lows if it doesn't, but strong earnings and corporate resilience likely puts somewhat of a floor under equity markets in the near-term."