Analyst Patrick O'Hare said markets remained "bullish minded" on hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Specialist Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Jul 30, 2026, in New York. (Photo: AP/Yuki Iwamura)
06 Aug 2026 05:30AM
NEW YORK: Stock markets climbed but then stalled Wednesday (Aug 5) as investors digested a wave of company earnings that broadly surpassed expectations, while assessing the chances of a US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. After pushing strongly ahead in early trading on Wall Street, momentum weakened for major US indices, with the tech-rich Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 finishing lower. The Dow still mustered a 0.5 per cent gain, lifting it to a third straight record close."It's just a case of the market taking a breather right now," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, adding that investors are still "operating with a bullish minded bias for the most part."Oil prices also finished mixed as markets tried to parse the latest developments regarding a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran's foreign ministry said 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.But official sources briefing Iranian media stressed that any reopening of the strait would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as its commitment to end its own naval blockade of Iran's ports."The factors making the Strait of Hormuz insecure still exist on the part of the United States, particularly the naval blockade and other aggressive and threatening actions against Iran and its interests," said Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to state news agency IRNA.Oil prices had fallen sharply on both Monday and Tuesday as Trump administration officials said they were close to an accord with Iran that would reopen the Hormuz Strait."Whatever the damage to the US' standing internationally, markets only care for now about the beneficial effect of lower oil prices, which are likely to help cool inflation and ease back the chances of Fed hikes in 2026," said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading and investing platform IG.
