On Tuesday, US equities mostly flourished, extending the momentum from the previous day. This was largely due to encouraging earnings reports from major tech firms, which reignited interest in companies within the AI sector. The S&P 500 inched closer to the landmark figure of 7,000, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 200 points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 remained around the break-even mark. The focus shifted back to corporate earnings following a pause in the selloff of precious metals, which averted forced liquidations triggered by elevated margin requirements.
Palantir Technologies saw a significant increase of 6% after its forward guidance exceeded market projections. The AI sector received additional uplift from Samsung, which reported strong performance in its semiconductor division, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), whose shares rose sharply ahead of its earnings announcement later in the day. Conversely, Nvidia's stock declined further as the company tempered its investment commitment in OpenAI.
In the pharmaceutical industry, Pfizer and Merck experienced slight declines in share prices post-earnings announcements. Disney also faced a 1.5% drop following the appointment of D'Amaro, the head of its parks division, as the company's new CEO. Finally, PayPal's stock plummeted by 17% in reaction to its earnings results.
