S&P 500 closes above 7,700 for the first time as the Dow gains more than 900 points

US equities rose for a second straight day on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 (13 Mordad 1405), with the S&P 500 gaining 1.8% to close above 7,700 for the first time and at a record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added more than 900 points for another record close.

The rally was driven by comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Washington and Tehran could be closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, alongside solid corporate earnings. Palantir Technologies popped almost 30% on the back of its quarterly results and Caterpillar shares rose more than 5%. Oil prices fell over the same session, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropping 5.7% to settle at $75.77 per barrel.

In after-hours trading the same day, SpaceX lost almost 7% after the company said capital expenditures climbed to $18.4 billion in the second quarter. AMD dropped 8% after posting adjusted earnings only slightly ahead of analyst estimates. The path of global oil prices and risk appetite in world markets are among the variables that feed through to Iran's gold and currency markets.