Madness on Wall Street: Palantir stock jumped by 29% and ignited records
An unusual trading day in the USA ended with sharp gains and the breaking of historical records. Strong earnings reports, led by Palantir, boosted the entire technology sector and drove the market upward.
Wall Street closed the trading day with sharp gains, as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices finished at new record levels, while the Nasdaq recorded another impressive jump. Investors received a series of positive data, including an earnings season that was better than expected, renewed optimism around the field of artificial intelligence, and a decline in oil prices against the backdrop of assessments that the USA and Iran may reach understandings that will lead to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P 500 index strengthened by about 1.8% and crossed the record level recorded in June. The Nasdaq added about 2.6%–2.7%, while the Dow Jones index jumped by about 1.7%–1.9% and also completed a new record, with all three indices recording a fourth consecutive day of gains.
One that stood out in particular was Palantir, whose stock surged by about 29% after publishing financial results that exceeded market forecasts. The company also improved its forecasts for the rest of the year, which strengthened investor confidence that the demand for artificial intelligence-based solutions continues to be high. This is the sharpest daily rise for the stock since February 2024.
The gains were not limited to technology companies. The entire technology sector strengthened by about 4%, the industrial and raw materials sectors added nearly 2% each, and financial stocks also showed positive performance of about 1%, led by Goldman Sachs.
Chip manufacturers also recorded an extraordinary trading day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) jumped by more than 6%, with Micron adding about 8%, SK Hynix rising by 6%, Marvell Technology jumping by 14%, Intel strengthening by 10%, AMD adding about 7% ahead of the publication of its financial reports, and Nvidia rising by 2%. Investors interpreted Palantir's results as a signal that the wave of investments in the AI field is still in full swing and continues to support the demand for advanced chips.
FactSet data also reinforced the positive atmosphere in the market. So far, more than 84% of the companies in the S&P 500 index have published their results, and the vast majority of them managed to beat analysts' forecasts, a figure that gave additional momentum to trading.
One of the stars of the Dow Jones index was Caterpillar, whose stock jumped by 5.6% after publishing strong reports for the second quarter. The company reported revenue of 20.54 billion dollars, an increase of 24% compared to the same period. The net profit per share reached 8.17 dollars, compared to 4.72 dollars last year, and was significantly higher than the forecasts that stood at about 6.2 dollars per share. In addition, the company raised its revenue forecast for the current year and updated that it managed to reduce by 400 million dollars the annual costs caused by import tariffs.
Alongside the strong reports, the energy market also provided a tailwind for investors. Oil prices continued to fall following assessments that progress in the talks between the USA and Iran could lead to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and reduce the fear of damage to global oil supplies. The combination of falling energy prices, strong business performance of the companies, and continued enthusiasm for the field of artificial intelligence helped lead the US stock market to another day of records.
