Dow Jumps 1.4% on Caterpillar 10% Surge

US equities rose Thursday, with the Dow up 1.44% to 49,585.83, driven by Caterpillar’s 10% gain and strong earnings.
Alphabet surged over 7% to a record high on robust cloud revenue, while Meta fell 9.4% after raising 2026 capex to $125‑$145 bn.
Fed left policy rate unchanged at 3.50‑3.75%, with four dissenters; core PCE rose 0.3% MoM, GDP Q1 grew 2% annualised.
Brent crude fell 3.4% to $114.05 per barrel, still above pre‑war $70, keeping inflation concerns alive.