Crude Oil Down 2%; Caterpillar Earnings Top Views

US stocks traded mostly higher with Dow up 1.29%. NASDAQ down 0.01% and S&P 500 up 0.37%. Industrials rose 2.2% while Tech fell 1.1%. Caterpillar reported strong results. Bandwidth soared 38% while Climb Global and MediaAlpha declined. Oil and gold prices changed. European and Asian markets closed mixed. US employment costs, personal spending and income increased while jobless claims decreased.

U.S. stocks traded mostly higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 1% on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 1.29% to 49,489.79 while the NASDAQ fell 0.01% to 24,673.01. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.37% to 7,162.03.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrials shares jumped by 2.2% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, information technology stocks fell by 1.1%.

Top Headline

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) reported better-than-expected first-quarter 2026 results.

The company's sales surged 22% year over year to $17.4 billion. Adjusted profit per share of $5.54 beat the $4.62 estimate, while GAAP profit per share was $5.47.

Equities Trading UP

Bandwidth Inc (NASDAQ:BAND) shares shot up 38% to $33.34 after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and raised its FY26 sales guidance above estimates.
Shares of Everspin Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:MRAM) got a boost, surging 38% to $18.16 after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results. The company announced a $40 million U.S. defense contract.
Vistance Networks Inc (NASDAQ:VISN) shares were also up, gaining 23% to $12.88 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly sales results.

Equities Trading DOWN

Climb Global Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:CLMB) shares dropped 20% to $17.01 after the company reported worse-than-expected first-quarter adjusted EPS results.
Shares of MediaAlpha Inc (NYSE:MAX) were down 17% to $8.26 following weak quarterly earnings.
Option Care Health Inc (NASDAQ:OPCH) was down, falling 31% to $18.62 after the company reported mixed first-quarter financial results and cut its FY26 sales guidance below estimates.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 2.1% to $104.60 while gold traded up 1.5% at $4,630.70.

Silver traded up 2.1% to $73.610 on Thursday, while copper rose 0.4% to $5.9570.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 1.3%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.8%. London's FTSE 100 gained 1.6%, Germany's DAX rose 1.3% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.5% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 1.06%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.11%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 1.28% and India's BSE Sensex declining 0.75%.

Economics

U.S. employment costs climbed by 0.9% in the first quarter following a 0.7% gain in the prior period.
U.S. personal spending surged by 0.9% month-over-month in March following a revised 0.6% gain in February.
U.S. personal income increased by 0.6% month-over-month in March after showing no growth in the previous month.
U.S. initial jobless claims declined by 26,000 from the previous week to 189,000 in the week ending April 25, compared to market estimates of 215,000.
The U.S. PCE price index increased 0.7% month-over-month in March following February's 0.4% gain.

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