4. Aug 2026
Description
(AWP Alliance News) - Shares climbed in New York on Tuesday ahead of SpaceX earnings, while oil prices and bond yields fell after a Trump administration official said the US could this week reach an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 907.47 points, 1.7% at 54,085.88. The S&P 500 rose 136.02 points, 1.8%, to 7,736.52. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 671.10 points, 2.6%, at 26,584.99.
"Stocks continue to gain on hopes that some kind of deal on Hormuz will be announced soon. Given how often this has been declared, you might think that everyone was tiring of the pantomime, but with the Dow, Dax and others at record highs and recent laggards like the Dax and Nikkei rebounding too it appears that Trump is managing to avoid a major crisis in the global economy. Oil prices are down too, which is always good for generating upside in equities panicked by signs that inflation is picking up again," said IG analyst Chris Beauchamp.
"Tonight's big news will be the inaugural outing for SpaceX results as a listed company. The euphoria of USD200 a share has been replaced with plentiful negativity down at USD108. This feels like a binary moment for the stock - good results could reignite the mania we saw around the IPO, but a miss tonight would spark a new rout that could take it below three figures. With another lockup expiring two days from now the selling might turn into a torrent."
Strong earnings from Palantir and Caterpillar further lifted sentiment.
Palantir late Monday raised guidance again after reporting better-than-expected June quarter earnings.
It now expects 2026 revenue of between USD8.15 billion to USD8.16 billion, growth of 82% on-year in May, Palantir upped its revenue outlook to between USD7.65 to USD7.66 billion, from USD7.18 to USD7.20 billion.
Palantir reported June quarter revenue of USD1.94 billion, up 93% from USD1.00 billion a year prior and ahead of the USD1.80 billion LSEG consensus. Diluted earnings per share climbed to USD0.41 from USD0.13 a year ago. Adjusted EPS of USD0.41 came in ahead of the USD0.33 market consensus.
Palantir climbed 29%.
Caterpillar on Tuesday reported a surge in second quarter profit as it achieved revenue above USD20 billion, a company record.
The heavy machinery maker said net profit shot up 65% to USD3.59 billion from USD2.18 billion a year ago. Revenue surged 24% to USD20.54 billion from USD16.57 billion.
Adjusted profit per share jumped 73% to USD8.17 from USD4.72 a year earlier, ahead of the Bloomberg-cited analyst estimate of USD6.17.
Caterpillar ended up 5.6%.
Novo Nordisk on Tuesday reported second quarter adjusted sales growth of 7% at constant exchange rates. Adjusted operating profit climbed 11%.
The drugmaker now expects both adjusted sales and operating profit to decline between 0% and 6% at constant exchange rates, up from a decline 4% to 12% projected in May.
The improved outlook is driven by increased expectations for GLP-1 product sales, the company said.
Novo Nordisk declined 6.0%.
A barrel of Brent fetched USD79.34 a barrel on Tuesday, down from USD83.87 on Monday. West Texas Intermediate fell to USD75.76 from USD80.24
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday a US-Iran peace agreement could be reached this week.
"I think there is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait...So you know, I'd expect the energy prices to settle back down, which, as I said, will be good for the entire world," Bessent said.
Qatar said Tuesday that diplomatic efforts were ongoing but that no direct Iran-US talks were planned, despite US President Donald Trump's insistence that talks are already underway.
Meanwhile, a Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea on Tuesday after an attack by the Iran-back Houthis. New Delhi condemned the "unprovoked" aggression.
"The market is now trying to price a more nuanced geopolitical path: lower risk of immediate military escalation, but no guarantee yet that the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal functioning," said Tickmill Group market strategist Patrick Munnelly.
The number of job openings in the US decreased by more than expected in June, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published on Tuesday.
The Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey published by the BLS showed the number of job openings declined to 7.359 million from a revised 7.537 million in May. The reading was slightly below the FXStreet-cited consensus of 7.4 million.
Hires picked up to 5.432 million in June from 5.252 million in May, but so did separations to 5.351 million from 5.260 million.
The number of job openings for May was revised down by 57,000, the number of hires was revised up by 82,000 and the number of total separations was revised up by 159,000.
In June, the number of job openings increased in transportation, warehousing, and utilities by 97,000 and in federal government by 39,000. Job openings decreased in wholesale trade by 74,000, non-durable goods manufacturing by 55,000, and mining and logging by 9,000.
Against the dollar, the euro was at USD1.1532, up from USD1.1512. Sterling rose to USD1.3451 from USD1.3433. Against the yen, the dollar was at JPY157.76, up from JPY156.88.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.69%, while the 30-year yield fell to 5.19% from 5.23%.
Gold climbed to USD4,081.41 an ounce from USD4,052.62 on Monday.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.2%. The CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.6%. The DAX 40 ended up 0.7% in Frankfurt.
In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.3%. The Hang Seng fell 0.6% in Hong Kong. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo ended up 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.4%.
Wednesday's corporate calendar has earnings from AppLovin, Axon, Eli Lilly, Kraft Heinz, Honda, Disney and Uber.
The global economic calendar has US, China and eurozone PMI and ADP unemployment.
By Aidan Lane, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to newsroom [at] alliancenews.com
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
