Finance

Strong corporate earnings reports heavily underpinned the stock market's advances, highlighted by a massive 29.5% surge in Palantir Technologies after reporting explosive revenue gains. Industrial giant Caterpillar also boosted the indexes by gaining over 5% on the back of historic quarterly revenue driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure demand.

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite outpaced other major benchmarks with a 2.6% gain, marking a strong recovery from its summer correction. Chipmakers led the broader technology resurgence, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index jumping more than 6.5% due to robust and persistent demand for AI components.

Energy prices fell noticeably amid diplomatic updates pointing toward a potential agreement to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz. International benchmark Brent crude futures dropped over 5% to fall below $80 a barrel, which significantly boosted investor sentiment across equities markets.