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Updated on: August 4, 2026 / 2:47 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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The U.S. stock market approached record highs on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be reached within days.Investors were also cheered by strong corporate profits, with companies ranging from equipment maker Caterpillar to software company Palantir Technologies reporting second-quarter results that exceeded analysts' expectations. The S&P 500 climbed 142 points, or 1.9%, to 7,731 in afternoon trading, putting it on track to surpass its previous high set on June 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,007 points, or 1.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 2.6%.Investors are hopeful that an end to the Iran war could lower global energy prices and reduce inflation. New government figures, the so-called Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), also showed that hiring in the U.S. remains solid, with layoffs at modest levels. "The equity rally is being driven by blowout earnings from the day's two most important reports (CAT and PLTR), positive remarks from Bessent on CNBC about the potential for a deal to reopen Hormuz arriving within the next 24-48 hours, and a JOLTS report that wasn't as hot as feared," Wall Street analyst Adam Crisafulli, head of Vital Knowledge, told investors in a note. To be sure, investors eager for peace in the Middle East have been disappointed before, with President Trump and other U.S. officials previously signaling that a breakthrough was at hand only for the conflict to resume. The S&P 500 and Dow have each risen 13% this year, while the Nasdaq is up 14%. Stocks have rebounded after sliding in the weeks following the outbreak of war in Iran in late February and despite some concerns about an AI-driven stock bubble.
