Wall Street Poised for New Record Highs on Strong Earnings and Easing Oil Prices

Wall Street is on track to hit new record highs as strong corporate earnings and easing oil prices drive investor sentiment. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% and was poised to surpass its previous record closing high set earlier this summer. Palantir Technologies led the charge, with shares surging 19.8% after the AI software company reported a 93% year-on-year revenue growth in the spring quarter.

Caterpillar also posted impressive quarterly results, with shares jumping 10.5%. The heavy equipment manufacturer's CEO Joe Creed said the company continues to witness strong order inflows and an expanding backlog across its core businesses. These gains added to a growing list of firms such as Amazon and Microsoft that have delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly results.

The strong earnings growth is expected to continue, with companies in the S&P 500 forecasted to report nearly 50% year-on-year growth in earnings per share for the spring quarter. This would be the strongest earnings expansion since the extraordinary rebound in the spring of 2021.