Now Reading: US stocks near records as profits rise and oil prices fall
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US stocks near records as profits rise and oil prices fall
U.S. stocks moved towards record highs on Tuesday as stronger corporate profits and falling oil prices eased investor concerns. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, while the Dow gained 966 points and the…
The Story in Brief
U.S. stocks moved towards record highs on Tuesday as stronger corporate profits and falling oil prices eased investor concerns. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, while the Dow gained 966 points and the Nasdaq climbed 2.2%. Palantir Technologies surged 29.3% after reporting a 93% rise in revenue and raising its 2026 forecast. Caterpillar gained 6.5% after quarterly sales exceeded $20 billion. Brent crude fell 4.9% to $79.64 a barrel, helping push the 10-year US Treasury yield down to 4.63% from 4.70% on Monday.
The Hindu reports that S&P 500 companies were on track for nearly 50% earnings-per-share growth in the spring quarter, the strongest increase since 2021. The rally comes despite inflation, the war in Iran and concern that enthusiasm for artificial intelligence has inflated stock prices. Asian and European markets also rose, with South Korea’s Kospi up 1.6%.
The Indian Opinion
The easy story is that record-bound stocks prove the economy is healthy, or that artificial intelligence has created a risk-free boom. Neither holds on its own. Earnings are strong, but inflation remains high, oil prices are swinging sharply and borrowing costs remain heavy. The market’s next test is whether profits can keep rising while the 10-year Treasury yield stays above 4.6%, rather than whether one upbeat quarter can sustain the rally.
Source: thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
