US Stocks Rally to New Records as Profits Soar

The US stock market has rallied to new records as companies continue to report strong profits and oil prices have eased. The S&P 500 rose 1.8 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.7 per cent to its own record high set just yesterday.

Palantir Technologies and Caterpillar led the way after delivering better-than-expected profit results for the spring quarter. Palantir's revenue surged 93 per cent, with CEO Alex Karp calling it an 'otherworldly' quarter. The company also raised its revenue forecast for the full year of 2026.

Caterpillar saw a 5.5 per cent gain after reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts had anticipated. It's the first time the heavy-equipment maker has exceeded $20 billion in sales and revenue in a quarter, with CEO Joe Creed attributing the growth to strong order rates and a growing backlog across its main businesses.

The Australian market is expected to follow suit, with futures pointing to a 35-point gain at the open. The ASX jumped 1.4 per cent to a record high on Tuesday, while the Australian dollar strengthened against the US dollar.