4:20pm: Peeking behind the SpaceX curtain
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 reached fresh record highs as investors welcomed a wave of upbeat corporate results and growing optimism that tensions in the Middle East could ease.
The Dow surged 907 points, or 1.7%, to close at 54,086, while the S&P 500 climbed 136 points, or 1.8%, to finish at 7,737. The Nasdaq led the advance, jumping 671 points, or 2.6%, to end at 26,585 as technology and growth stocks regained momentum.
Investor sentiment was boosted after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there was “a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route. Crude prices continued to fall on the comments, easing concerns over a potential supply shock.
Corporate earnings provided another major catalyst for stocks. Caterpillar shares climbed after the industrial giant reported quarterly sales and revenue topping $20 billion for the first time, with the company benefiting from demand tied to infrastructure and the artificial intelligence build-out.
Palantir Technologies was another standout performer, with shares soaring nearly 30% after the company delivered what CEO Alex Karp described as an “otherworldly” quarter, highlighting continued demand for its AI-powered software.
Investors will turn their attention to more major earnings after the close, including AMD and SpaceX’s first reported results as a public company, as markets look for further signs that corporate strength can support the ongoing rally.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines
- Snail Inc (NASDAQ:SNAL) announced that its subsidiary Egofold will debut AI Ranch and Non-Human Players, an AI initiative featuring adaptive AI companions for video games, at the Ai4 2026 conference in Las Vegas.
- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd (TSX-V:MON, OTC:MXTRF) reported that a new drillhole at its Elvira Gold Project in Chile intersected signs of a gold-bearing hydrothermal system, including deep pyrite mineralization identified through AI-assisted exploration targeting.
- Grey Matters Health (CSE:GREY, OTCQB:AGNPD, FRA:AGW0) announced plans to open its first NovaScan Neuroimaging Clinic in September, launching its US expansion with a brain-specific PET imaging facility focused on detecting neurodegenerative diseases.
- Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSX-V:PINN, OTCQB:PSGCF, FRA:P9J) identified gold-silver mineralization in newly accessible underground workings at its El Potrero property in Mexico following rehabilitation and channel sampling.
- Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF, FRA:A9J0) secured a C$12 million strategic investment from Evolution Mining, which will take a near-10% stake to help fund drilling at the Philadelphia Gold-Silver Project in Arizona.
- Lisata Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:LSTA, FRA:8NE) filed a lawsuit against Kuva Labs and Kuva Acquisition Corp following the termination of their merger agreement, while taking steps to strengthen its financial position and protect shareholder interests.
2:30pm: Market movers
- Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) reported second-quarter earnings and revenue well above Wall Street expectations, with revenue surging 93% year over year, lifting its shares 20%.
- Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT, XETRA:CAT) posted record second-quarter revenue of $20.5 billion, fueled by strong demand for power-generation equipment, with results exceeding analyst expectations and shares rising 11%.
- Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP) reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings, issued a strong third-quarter outlook and saw its shares jump 14%.
- SK Hynix Inc (NASDAQ:SKHY) received an Outperform rating from Wedbush with a KRW2.56 million price target, driven by expectations of tight memory supply, technology leadership and attractive valuation.
- Grey Matters Health (CSE:GREY, OTCQB:AGNPD, FRA:AGW0) announced it will open its first NovaScan Neuroimaging Clinic in September, launching its US expansion with a brain-specific PET imaging facility focused on neurodegenerative diseases.
- Wayfair Inc (NYSE:W) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue, driven by accelerating US sales growth, sending its shares up about 28%.
- Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSX-V:PINN, OTCQB:PSGCF, FRA:P9J) identified new gold-silver mineralization in previously inaccessible underground workings at its El Potrero project in Mexico following rehabilitation and channel sampling.
- Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF, FRA:A9J0) secured a C$12 million strategic investment from Evolution Mining, which will acquire a near-10% stake to support expanded drilling at the Philadelphia Gold-Silver Project.
12:05pm: Anthropic inks deal with Nvidia-backed company
Anthropic has signed a $10 billion, six-year deal for computing capacity with Volta Infra Holdings, a cloud infrastructure startup backed by Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) (Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD), Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD)), according to media reports citing people familiar with the matter, as the Claude maker moves to secure additional computing resources amid growing demand for its AI products.
Volta announced earlier Tuesday that it had secured a six-year, $10 billion agreement with an unnamed artificial intelligence company. The deal will be delivered in partnership with Bitdeer Technologies Group, a bitcoin miner that operates data centers, using a site in Norway.
The managed data center is expected to feature Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin AI chips, according to details of the agreement. Volta was recently valued at $2.4 billion following a $300 million funding round.
11:00am: Palantir's 'otherworldly' quarter
Palantir’s most recent quarter was “otherworldly,” according to CEO Alex Karp.
“Demand for AI sovereignty has now been unleashed. And Palantir is the only company that has demonstrated it can transform tokens into actual economic value,” Karp told shareholders in a statement.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.41, compared with the $0.35 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 93% year over year to $1.935 billion, above expectations of $1.80 billion.
UBS analysts wrote that Palantir posted an “outstanding” acceleration in growth, with “zero evidence of increased competition” affecting Palantir’s results, addressing what they described as a key bear-case concern.
Shares of Palantir had gained as much as 26% by midmorning Tuesday.
10am: S&P 500 surges to new high
Buyers are overpowering sellers in early trading in New York, with the S&P 500 surging 0.8% to a new record high of 7,658 and looking like it's heading higher.
Top of the early leaderboard is Palantir, which has surged 20%, while Caterpillar has jumped 10.7%.
The latter is the leading driver for the Dow Jones, which is up 541 points or 1%, while the Nasdaq is up the most, surging 1.3% as semiconductor and artificial intelligence stocks rally.
Behind Palantir on the Nasdaq 100 are ARM, Marvell, Lumentum, Sandisk, Intel, Micron, AMD and others, as chipmakers make broad gains ahead of AMD's results after the close and reac-across from Caterpillar.
Nike and Chevron are the Dow's biggest fallers.
8.10am: Wall Street rally to continue as oil falls, Palantir and Caterpillar beat
Wall Street futures were given a new boost ahead of another packed earnings session, helped by a renewed fall in oil prices as hopes of a deal with Iran resurfaced.
Dow Jones futures were up 453 points, or 0.9%, while those for the Nasdaq gained 0.9%. S&P 500 futures were 0.2% higher, putting them on course for a new record high.
A day earlier saw a broad rally, with the Nasdaq jumping 2.1%, the Dow up 1.3% and the S&P 500 climbing 1.5% to just over 7,600, within 20 points of its record high.
WTI crude fell 4.2% to $76.90 a barrel following comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be close.
"I think there's a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait," Bessent told CNBC.
The move marks another rapid change in direction for oil, which had climbed overnight after two tankers were reportedly struck and Iran denied that talks with Washington had resumed.
Market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth said the rally so far this week has been driven by positive tech earnings combined with easing geopolitical tensions lowering oil prices.
He said the drop in crude eased fears that another energy shock would reignite inflation and force the Federal Reserve to reconsider its policy outlook.
Daniela Hathorn at Capital.com noted that it was not just tech providing a boost, with around 85% of S&P 500 companies having beaten forecasts, with aggregate earnings growth running above 47%.
Shares in Palantir were up 15% in premarket trading after reporting overnight, with earnings well ahead of expectations, and commercial revenue expected to grow 134% this year.
And Caterpillar shares were up over 10% in pre-market trading after it reported profits above estimates as AI demand boosted sales at its power-generation business.
Today's other earnings include Merck, McDonald's, Pfizer, BP, Spotify, Marathon Petroleum and Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) before the opening bell.
Later, SpaceX and Advanced Micro Devices will lead the after-hours results, alongside Arista Networks, Amgen, Gilead Sciences, Booking Holdings and Emerson Electric.