Wall Street Hits Record Highs as Ormuz Optimism Lifts Markets

NEW YORK — Wall Street closed higher Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 finishing at record highs as investors welcomed signs of a possible agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reacted to stronger-than-expected corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones rose 1.71% to close at 54,085.07, while the S&P 500 gained 1.79% to finish at 7,736.28. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.59% to 26,584.39.

During the session, both the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new intraday highs before ending the day at record closing levels.

Markets were lifted after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement “between today and tomorrow” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane that previously handled about 20% of the world’s crude oil before the conflict. Iran has kept the passage closed following U.S. military strikes.

Adding to investor optimism, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said commercial vessels were once again transiting the waterway and confirmed that negotiations involving Iran, Oman and the United States were underway.

The prospect of easing tensions in the Middle East sent West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude down 5.7% to $75.77 per barrel, as concerns over potential supply disruptions eased.

Corporate earnings also supported the rally.

Palantir Technologies surged 29.45% after reporting a 93% increase in quarterly revenue, driven by strong demand for its artificial intelligence and data analytics platforms.

Meanwhile, SpaceX gained 9.43% ahead of releasing its first earnings report since going public.

Other notable gainers included Intel, up 10.84%, Caterpillar, which rose 5.57%, Goldman Sachs, up 2.62%, and Nvidia, which added 2.56%.

In other markets, gold rose 1.07% to $4,134 per ounce, silver advanced 3.4% to $59.82 per ounce, while the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 5.5 basis points to 4.624%.