The Dow Jones jumped 1% and outperformed the Nasdaq in terms of momentum. What pushed it up?

The American index of "blue chips" Dow Jones jumped by more than 1% in trading on April 30, outperforming the dynamics of technology Nasdaq Composite (growing by a symbolic 0.09%) and the U.S. broad market index S&P 500 (adding 0.37%). The Dow Jones owes its growth during the trading session to the securities of heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar, which jumped more than 9% after a strong report, CNBC writes. Caterpillar also raised its forecast for annual revenue, the channel points out.

Meanwhile, the securities of Meta Platforms and Microsoft fell more than 9% and 5%, respectively, after they released their quarterly reports the day before, putting pressure on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

Nevertheless, despite this pressure in the tech sector, strong gains in shares of major U.S. tech companies in April are likely to allow the three major U.S. stock indexes to end the month with strong gains, CNBC notes. The S&P 500, for example, is up more than 9% for April and is on track for its best performance since November 2020. The Nasdaq could end the month with a 13% jump - then April would be its best month in six years - since April 2020. The Dow Jones is on track for its best monthly performance since November 2024, adding more than 6% since the beginning of the month.

- Caterpillar, known for its giant yellow dump trucks, bulldozers and excavators, and considered an indicator of the health of the global industrial economy, raised its full-year outlook after recording higher earnings and sales in the latest quarter on strong demand for large power generating equipment used in AI data centers. Against this backdrop, Caterpillar's sales in its construction equipment segment rose 38% in the latest reporting period, and total sales and revenue for the first three months of 2026 rose 22% to $17.42 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts of $16.53 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

- Meta's stock performance was negatively impacted by the company's latest capital expenditure forecasts, CNBC points out.

- Microsoft shares fell amid the company's claims that its capital expenditures will reach $190 billion this year because of the rising cost of memory chips.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor