US Stocks Soar to New Records on Strong Earnings and Lower Oil Prices
The US stock market reached new records on Tuesday as companies' profits continued to soar and oil prices eased. The S&P 500 index rose 1.8%, topping its previous all-time high set a couple months ago, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 907 points, or 1.7%, to its own record. The Nasdaq composite jumped 2.6%.
Palantir Technologies led the way with a 29.5% surge after CEO Alex Karp reported a 93% increase in revenue for the spring quarter, calling it an 'otherworldly' quarter. Caterpillar also climbed 5.6%, beating analysts' expectations and reporting its first time making over $20 billion in sales and revenue in a quarter.
Analysts attribute the strong profits to the AI boom, with companies like Palantir and Caterpillar benefiting from increased orders for data center turbines and other related products. Despite worries about high inflation and a possible bubble in stock prices due to artificial-intelligence technology, Wall Street remains optimistic.