Dow rallies 700 points, S&P 500 hits new high as strong Alphabet, Caterpillar earnings overshadow Iran worries: Live updates

Stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 reaching a fresh all-time intraday, as investors reacted to upbeat earnings from Caterpillar and Alphabet.

The broad market index was last up 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.9%, hitting a new all-time high as well. The blue-chip Dow added 844 points, or 1.7%.

Caterpillar shares popped 10% on Thursday after the company better-than-expected quarterly figures, boosting the Dow. The industrial name, which is viewed as a bellwether for the global economy, also upped its annual revenue outlook.

The report offers a glimmer of hope for the U.S. economy, which saw disappointing growth in the first quarter. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product rose at a 2% annualized pace in the period. While that was an increase from 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, it was below the 2.2% estimate.

Alongside Caterpillar, shares of Alphabet gained 9%, offering a boost to the broader market. That move came after the company’s first-quarter revenue beat expectations. It also increased its 2026 capital expenditure guidance range to as much as $190 billion.

Conversely, Meta and Microsoft lost 9% and 5%, respectively. Meta shares were weighed down by the company’s latest capex, while user growth disappointed. The company also raised its capex spending for the year. That was a similar point of concern for Microsoft, as shares were under pressure after the company said spending will reach $190 billion due to high memory costs.

“What was most important on the [“Magnificent Seven”] earnings is that we didn’t learn anything,” Tom Graff, Facet’s chief investment officer, said to CNBC, noting that while it’s a positive from a GDP perspective that hyperscalers are “spending all this money on physical infrastructure,” other concerns remain, including worries around the companies’ valuations.

“Something that we’re going to keep wrestling with until we know one way or the other is: Does this AI spend at some point turn into software-like margins, or does it not really and we need to rethink those multiples,” Graff said.

Even with the latest pressure in certain tech names, the sector has helped put the broader market on pace for a strong month. The S&P 500 has risen about 10% month to date, putting the index on pace for its best month since November 2020. The Nasdaq is heading for a 13% jump, tracking for its best month since April 2020. The Dow is set to end April with a more than 6% gain — its strongest monthly performance since November 2024.