5. Aug 2026
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(AWP Alliance News) - Shares ended mixed in New York on Wednesday as SpaceX declined on the back of its first earnings report, while oil fell on an Iranian report that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will soon be finalised.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 263.24 points, 0.5% at a record 54,349.12. The S&P 500 fell 12.97 points, 0.2%, to 7,723.55. The Nasdaq Composite ended down 12.97 points, 0.8%, at 26,363.44.
"The S&P 500's sprint to fresh records was always going to end in a session like this. After roughly USD3.7 trillion was added to the index's market value, the rally finally began to churn as the upside chase ran into profit-taking, softer labour data and a market that had already spent much of its near-term ammunition. My instinct throughout the move was that the rally was real, but the final burst was not entirely about fundamentals. It was increasingly being carried by traders trying to recover exposure after cutting it at precisely the wrong time, short sellers being forced back through the door and an options market that kept adding fuel as prices rose," wrote Strategist Stephen Innes.
A barrel of Brent fetched USD79.46 a barrel on Wednesday, up from USD79.34 on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate fell to USD75.23 from USD75.76.
Iran and Oman have agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and are putting the final touches on arrangements for jointly managing the waterway, Tehran's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
"The geographical coordinates of the route envisaged by the two sides have been agreed upon and, if certain third parties do not obstruct the process, the joint statement of the two countries, containing the main considerations and points of agreement, is also in the final review and drafting stage," spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to state news agency IRNA.
Flutter on Wednesday said Chief Executive Peter Jackson will step down after eight years. He is to be replaced by Dan Taylor, the boss of Flutter's international business.
Flutter shed 11% in New York after saying it expects to miss 2026 guidance due to declining US sales and increased investment.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is set to be around USD2.66 billion in 2026, USD210 million below previous expectations.
In the six months to June, Flutter said group adjusted Ebitda dropped by 45% to USD508 million over the first half of 2026. US revenue fell 6% to USD1.68 billion, largely due to a 15% fall in its sportsbook arm.
Disney on Wednesday said it will use proceeds from the sale of its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to increase share buybacks as it reported better-than-expected earnings in its third quarter.
Diluted earnings per share fell 48% to USD1.51 in its financial third quarter to June 27 from USD2.92, but rose 28% on an adjusted basis to USD2.06 from USD1.61, ahead of the USD1.85 consensus.
Revenue grew 6.8% to USD25.25 billion from USD23.65 billion, below the USD25.40 billion consensus.
Disney climbed 3.7%.
Uber shares slid 5.3% on Wednesday as it offered weaker than expected third quarter guidance.
Uber sees September-quarter bookings of USD59.25 billion at the midpoint, short of the USD59.33 billion StreetAccount estimate. It sees EPS USD0.84 to USD0.88, below the USD0.89 LSEG consensus.
Also on Wednesday, Transport for London granted private hire vehicle licences to a number of Wayve's autonomous Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles.
The approval allows the companies to begin trialling autonomous rides in London under the government's autonomous vehicle trialling code of practice, with a licensed safety driver onboard.
SpaceX shares sank 14% on Wednesday after the firm reported capital expenditure of USD18.4 billion in the three months to June, ahead of the USD13.22 billion FactSet estimate.
SpaceX declared a net loss of USD542 million in the quarter ended June 30, narrowed from USD1.01 billion a year prior. Basic and diluted net loss per share amounted to USD0.09 versus USD0.34 a year ago. Revenue increased 92% to USD7.81 billion from USD4.07 billion the year prior ahead of Visible Alpha consensus of USD6.86 billion.
On the earnings call, Chief Executive Elon Musk said he expects the company to generate USD1 trillion in sales by 2030, a year earlier than forecast. In addition, Musk expects SpaceX to report annual recurring revenue of at least USD100 billion this year.
The Institute for Supply Management on Wednesday said activity in the services sector continued to expand in July.
The ISM services PMI increased to 54.1 from 54 in June, slightly below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 54.5, for its 25th consecutive month in expansion territory.
The business activity index increased to 59.1 from 55.4. The services employment index decreased to 47.4 from 51.2, the new orders index grew to 57.2 from 55.1, and the prices paid index rose to 70.3 from 67.7.
The US private sector added 44,000 jobs in July, payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday, slowing from an increase of 98,000 jobs in June and 122,000 in May.
Against the dollar, the euro was at USD1.1552, up from USD1.1532. Sterling rose to USD1.3465 from USD1.3451. Against the yen, the dollar was at JPY157.72, down from JPY157.76.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 4.62% from 4.63%, while the 30-year yield fell to 5.18% from 5.19%.
Gold climbed to USD4,247.36 an ounce from USD4,081.41 on Tuesday.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%. The CAC 40 in Paris ended slightly higher. The DAX 40 ended down 0.3% in Frankfurt.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 1.5%. The Hang Seng rose 0.2% in Hong Kong. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo ended up 3.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9%.
Thursday's corporate calendar has earnings from Warner Bros Discovery and Keurig Dr Pepper, Cloudflare and Datadog.
The global economic calendar has US EIA natural gas stocks, US wholesale inventories and US initial jobless claims.
By Aidan Lane, Alliance News reporter
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