Dow Hits Record on Hormuz Deal Hopes as SpaceX, AMD Selloffs Snap the Rally

Market Overview

A Record Close for the Dow, a Reversal for the S&P and Nasdaq

Today's Moves

S&P 500 ▼ 0.17% Dow ▲ 0.49%
Nasdaq ▼ 0.83% Russell ▼ 0.59%

This Week So Far

Tuesday's close marked a fourth straight winning session for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, both closing at record highs. Wednesday's pullback snapped that streak, though the Dow extended its own run with today's record close.

The Week's Theme

Q2 earnings season is in its home stretch — roughly three-quarters of S&P 500 companies have now reported, tracking toward ~50% aggregate profit growth. Meanwhile Washington, Tehran, and Muscat inched toward a 60-day interim deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, cooling oil's risk premium and lifting sentiment even as a handful of high-profile earnings reactions (SpaceX, AMD) went the other way.

Market Breadth

Breadth was mixed beneath the headline index moves — more than half of individual stocks finished lower even as the Dow set a record. Materials and healthcare led sector gains; energy lagged as crude eased on the prospect of a Hormuz resolution.

The U.S., Iran, and Oman were closing in on a 60-day interim arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, with inbound traffic routed through Iranian waters and outbound traffic through Omani waters, no tolls during the initial period, and mine-clearance efforts within 30 days — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said an announcement could come as soon as this week.

Breaking

Dow Sets a Record as Hormuz Deal Hopes Offset SpaceX and AMD Earnings Selloffs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose ▲ 0.49% to a record 54,349, even as the S&P 500 touched a fresh intraday high above 7,790 before fading to close ▼ 0.17% at 7,723 — snapping its four-session winning streak.
The Nasdaq Composite followed the same reversal, falling ▼ 0.83% to 26,363 after trading higher for most of the morning.
SpaceX tumbled roughly ▼ 11.9% despite revenue nearly doubling, as investors fixated on ballooning AI and Starlink capital spending and Thursday's post-IPO lockup expiration, which frees close to 911 million shares.
AMD dropped about ▼ 6.5% even after raising quarterly revenue guidance above Wall Street's estimates — a 142% year-to-date run had left the bar too high for the beat to clear.

Sector Focus

Nvidia Gains as SpaceX's Chip Business Shifts Away From AMD

Nvidia (NVDA) rose ▲ 4.4% after reports that SpaceX will lean more heavily on Nvidia hardware for its AI and Starlink compute needs — a shift that weighed on AMD.
Eli Lilly (LLY) gained after revenue surged roughly 48% year-over-year and the company raised full-year guidance to $85–87 billion.
Walt Disney (DIS) climbed after beating profit forecasts, helped by "Toy Story 5" crossing $1 billion at the global box office.
Energy names lagged as WTI crude eased toward $75 a barrel and Brent slipped near $79, with progress toward a Strait of Hormuz deal easing the market's supply-risk premium.

Today's Winners

Earnings Beats Drove Wednesday's Biggest Gainers

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) led gainers, jumping ▲ 11.8% after beating Q2 earnings estimates and raising full-year guidance.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) climbed ▲ 11% on a Q2 beat, and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) added ▲ 8.2%.
Nvidia (NVDA) rose ▲ 4.4% on the SpaceX hardware news, while Arista Networks (ANET) gained ▲ 3.8%.
Chipmaker gains were the exception rather than the rule Wednesday, with most AI-infrastructure names trading lower alongside AMD.

Macro & Index Change

Records for the Dow, a Pause for Everything Else

The Dow Jones Industrial Average led index gains, rising ▲ 0.49% to a record 54,349, while the S&P 500 eased ▼ 0.17% to 7,723 and the Nasdaq fell ▼ 0.83% to 26,363.
The Russell 2000 declined ▼ 0.59% to 3,019, with small caps lagging the record-chasing large-cap benchmarks.
ADP private payrolls rose just 44,000 in July, well short of the roughly 65,000–70,000 economists expected, keeping the debate over the Fed's next move firmly in play.
The 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.62%, while gold pushed higher toward roughly $4,250 an ounce.

Looking Ahead

What to Watch Thursday, August 6

Earnings continue Thursday, with Datadog, Coterra Energy, Constellation Energy, Novavax, Roku, Trade Desk, Cloudflare, DraftKings, and Airbnb all scheduled to report.
A formal Strait of Hormuz announcement could land as soon as this week, with the 60-day interim shipping arrangement between Iran and Oman the key detail markets are watching.
SpaceX's post-IPO lockup expires Thursday, freeing roughly 911 million shares for trading — a potential source of added volatility in the stock.
Whether Wednesday's AMD and SpaceX selloffs extend into Thursday will test how much patience investors have left for AI-capex-heavy growth stories.
Q2 earnings season enters its final stretch, with roughly three-quarters of S&P 500 companies having reported so far, tracking toward ~50% aggregate profit growth.