The Dow rose 907 points, about 1.7 percent, reaching a session high after oil prices fell on renewed hopes talks could reopen the Strait of Hormuz. CNBC reported the slide in crude helped push the S&P 500 up roughly 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite about 2.6 percent, sending all three indexes to multiday records and marking a strong start to August. The move narrowed inflation worries and helped Treasury yields fall, adding fuel to a rally led by tech and industrial names. FactSet data showed more than 84 percent of S&P 500 companies that had reported second-quarter results had beaten expectations through early August.

The market rally translated into clear winners. Household investors and sectors with heavy tech and industrial exposure saw the strongest gains as oil's fall trimmed inflation risk and lifted risk appetite, CNBC reported. West Texas Intermediate settled down about 5.7 percent at roughly $75.77 a barrel, and Brent fell about 5.3 percent to near $79.36, CNBC said.

Technology stocks led the upside. Palantir Technologies jumped sharply after posting blowout second-quarter results, with CEO Alex Karp describing demand from AI-focused customers as "otherworldly," CNBC reported. Chipmakers rallied as hyperscaler AI spending steadied July weakness: Micron rose about 7 percent and Marvell climbed around 12 percent in the session covered by CNBC. Those moves reflected renewed investor confidence in cloud and semiconductor beneficiaries, Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, told coverage cited by CNBC.

Industrials also outperformed. Caterpillar was the biggest gainer in the Dow after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results and raising revenue growth guidance. The company said demand for equipment tied to AI data-centre buildouts was strong and that its tariff-cost outlook for the full year would land at the lower end of its prior range, helping its shares surge.

The immediate catalyst was comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Washington was in talks with Iran and that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz might be reached imminently, CNBC reported. That prospect reduced a key geopolitical premium on crude, which in turn eased a near-term inflation worry and compressed nominal Treasury yields.

Markets then left room for corporate beats to amplify the move. FactSet data cited by CNBC showed that the majority of companies reporting second-quarter results had exceeded expectations, a factor strategists said was lifting sentiment. Financials and materials posted gains too, though outside tech and industrials returns were more mixed during the session.

The rally extended an already strong start to August after the prior day's close had also marked an all-time high for the Dow, CNBC noted. The combination of falling oil, easing yields and a strong earnings cadence put growth and AI-linked names squarely in favour for the session.

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FactSet's beat-rate remaining above 80 percent through the early-August reporting window is the concrete underpinning of the rally: corporate results are still doing the heavy lifting even as geopolitical headlines move oil and yields. Originally reported by CNBC.

This article was created with AI assistance.