S&P 500 rises to new record, riding 5-day rally on strong earnings, Iran optimism: Live updates

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 4, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters

The S&P 500 rose to a new all-time intraday record on Wednesday, building on its big rally in recent days, as traders pored through the latest batch of strong corporate earnings reports and grew hopeful that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened in the near term

The broad market index gained 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 634 points, or 1.2%. The 30-stock index also scored a fresh all-time high. The three indexes are tracking for their best five-day performance since April 2025

The moves come after markets jumped in the prior session, with the S&P 500 closing above 7,700 for the first time and the Dow jumping more than 900 points for another record close. Over the past week, the S&P 500 has garnered a gain of more than 6%, while the Dow and Nasdaq have increased more than 5% and more than 9%, respectively

Wednesday’s new record highs were supported by Dow member Disney, which rose more than 2% on better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter, as well as Eli Lilly. Shares of the pharmaceutical giant moved higher by 7% after its second-quarter earnings and revenue surpassed estimates

The two reports add to an already strong earnings season so far, which has seen more than 84% of S&P 500 companies beat expectations, per FactSet

Meanwhile, oil prices remained stable Wednesday after falling Tuesday, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the U.S. and Iran could be closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate futures for September delivery were little changed at around $75 per barrel. Brent crude futures for October delivery, the international benchmark, were up 1% at about $80 a barrel

Investors shook off a 4% drop in shares of chip giant Advanced Micro Devices, which posted adjusted earnings that only came in slightly ahead of the Street’s estimates

SpaceX shares plunged 12% after the rocket company released its first quarterly report since going public in June. Elon Musk’s space firm said its capital expenditures jumped sixfold to $18.4 billion in the second quarter. This figure was ahead of analyst expectations, with the majority of the spending going towards AI

However, Nvidia shares popped 4% after Musk said that SpaceX would only use Nvidia processors when building its artificial intelligence computing infrastructure in the future. In SpaceX’s earnings call, he said Nvidia has “the best AI computer,” before adding, “We’re exclusive to Nvidia.”

Traders also looked past a weak ADP jobs report for July, which showed private sector hiring increase by 44,000 on the month. That was below the 95,000 seen in June and the 75,000 Dow Jones forecast

21 Min Ago

ISM services index hits 54.1; prices up, hiring down

The U.S. services sector continued to expand in July though prices rose and hiring pulled back, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday

The ISM Services PMI was at 54.1 for the month, just above the June reading of 54.0 and slightly below the Dow Jones consensus for 54.5. As the index measures the percentage of firms reporting growth, anything above 50 indicates expansion, which the sector has been in for 25 consecutive months

Though the top-line reading was solid, the employment index retreated to 47.4, its lowest since March. The prices index rose to 70.3, putting its 12-month average at the highest since April 2023

45 Min Ago

Hormuz deal would give Iran control of inbound traffic: Reuters

An Iranian flag flutters in the wind as ships remain anchored on May 16, 2026 in the Strait of Hormuz near Larak Island, Iran.
Majid Saeedi | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Iran and Oman are negotiating a deal that would give Tehran control over inbound ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, an Iranian

“The concession has already been made regarding some ​form of control over Hormuz,” one of the regional

The that a deal to open Hormuz was imminent. They told Reuters that important details still had to be worked out

Brent oil was about 1% higher at around $80 per barrel Wednesday after Iran’s Houthi allies claimed to have attacked a Saudi tanker in the Red Sea. Futures sold off in the previous session on chatter that the U.S. and Iran were nearing a deal

— Spencer Kimball

1 Hour Ago

S&P 500, Dow rise to record

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on August 05, 2026 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average scored new record highs on Wednesday morning

The broad market index rose 0.6% just after 9:30 a.m. ET, while blue-chip Dow advanced 365 points, or 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite also rose 0.4%

— Sean Conlon

2 Hours Ago

Oil prices rise after Houthis claim to have struck Saudi tanker

Crude prices rose Wednesday after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants claimed they had struck a Saudi Arabian tanker in the Red Sea

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 1% at $80.22 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded 0.46% higher to $76.12. Read more

— Hugh Leask

2 Hours Ago

‘Now is the time to start slowly moving’ rates higher, says Fed’s Kashkari

Neel Kashkari, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, speaks at the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 7, 2024. 
David Swanson | Reuters

Higher interest rates are necessary now to bring down inflation

“Corporate earnings are through the roof. They’re doing great. The consumer is hanging in there. The labor market is hanging in there. I look at this constellation and I say, what evidence do I have that monetary policy is particularly restrictive right now?” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin in a live interview from the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado

“So I argued now is the time to start slowly moving up as we get more data in,” he said

Read more here

— Jeff Cox

3 Hours Ago

Private payrolls rise by 44,000 in July, ADP data shows

Jobseekers speak with a recruiter during the Catalyst Career Group Dallas Job Fair in Dallas, Texas, US, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Dylan Hollingsworth | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Hiring at private companies slowed considerably in July, with most of the job growth coming health care, payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday

Nonfarm job growth excluding government totaled a seasonally adjusted 44,000 for the month, below the downwardly revised 95,000 in June and less than the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 75,000. Read more

— Jeff Cox

3 Hours Ago

Eli Lilly, Flutter and Disney among the other names making moves before the bell

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

• Disney — The stock was up by more than 3%, despite the media giant reporting a mixed fiscal third quarter. While earnings per share came in above expectations, revenue missed slightly. Revenue for the company’s experiences business, which includes its theme parks, was up 10% annually.
• Flutter Entertainment — The sports betting and iGaming operator was off more than 5% after the company announced CEO Peter Jackson would be leaving the company and Dan Taylor, the head of the company’s international business, would replace him on Oct. 1. Flutter also lowered its revenue guidance for the full-year, weighing on shares too. 
• Eli Lilly — The pharmaceutical giant jumped more than 6.5% after it reported an earnings and revenue beat in its second-quarter financial report. Eli Lilly also raised its full-year revenue guidance for 2026, as demand for its weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro continues to surge.

Read the full list here

— Davis Giangiulio

3 Hours Ago

CVS report better-than-expected on earnings

“Drive-Thru Pharmacy” signage at a CVS pharmacy store in Immokalee, Florida, US, on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
Zak Bennett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

CVS beat FactSet consensus on earnings and revenue for the second quarter Wednesday morning

The company reported earnings of $2.58 versus FactSet’s $1.85. Similarly, CVS’s revenue was $106.1 billion compared to FactSet’s expected $100.03 billion. 

The health company also increased its EPS guidance to $7.90 to $8.10 from $7.30 to $7.50. It’s also increasing its GAAP diluted EPS and cash flow from its operation guidance

Shares of the company were up around 3% in premarket trading following the report

— Ananya Chetia

4 Hours Ago

Uber Technologies shares fall after earnings

Uber Technologiesshares slid 3% after the ride-hailing company issued a forecast for bookings and earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates, while second-quarter profit was in line with expectations

Uber sees bookings of $59.25 billion at the middle of its range in the third quarter. That trails the average StreetAccount estimate of $59.33 billion. And the company’s earnings forecast of 84 cents to 88 cents fell below the 89-cent average analyst estimate

Uber posted revenue of $14.19 billion, which disappointed the consensus estimate of $14.24 billion Earnings of 81 cents per share came in line with expectations

Uber Technologies, 1-day

— Sarah Min and Lora Kolodny

4 Hours Ago

Eli Lilly jumps on big earnings beat

Eli Lilly shares popped 5% after the pharma giant reported Q2 results that easily beat analyst expectations, thanks to strong sales from Zepbound and Mounjaro

Lilly earned an adjusted $8.38 per share on revenue of $22.97 billion. Analysts expected a profit of $6.01 per share on revenue of $20.73 billion

LLY 5-day chart

Read more on LLY earnings here

— Fred Imbert

4 Hours Ago

Circle surges on Arc launch partners, higher revenue forecast

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) during the Circle Internet Financial Ltd. initial public offering (IPO) in New York, US, on Thursday, June 5, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Circle shares jumped 9% in premarket trading after the company named several initial partners on its new Arc blockchain for financial services and doubled the midpoint of its full year other revenue guidance to $320 million from $160 million, driven by recognized revenue from the ARC token presale in May

BlackRock, New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange, Visa, Mastercard, the DTCC, Galaxy, Global Payments and Moneygram are among the initial group of partners that will help run Arc

See the full list of Arc partners and watch CNBC’s exclusive interview with Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire on the announcement here

Elsewhere, revenue grew 7% year over year to $701 million, missing FactSet expectations of $713 million, as lower interest rates and a softer crypto market weighed on growth. The quarter reflects Circle’s push to diversify beyond stablecoin issuance by building infrastructure across tokenized assets, payments and AI-enabled financial applications

— Tanaya Macheel

4 Hours Ago

Disney rises on earnings beat

Disney shares were up more than 4% in the premarket after the media giant reported earnings that beat analyst expectations. The company earned an adjusted $2.06 per share in the fiscal third quarter, beating an LSEG estimate of $1.86

DIS 5-day chart

Read more about Disney’s quarter here

— Fred Imbert

6 Hours Ago

Here are the stocks moving in premarket trading; from SpaceX to Pinterest

Here are they key stocks moving in premarket trading on Wednesday as the earnings bonanza continues:

• SpaceX shares plunged nearly 10% on Wednesday after a reported surge in AI spending clouded strong earnings that beat expectations.
• AMD declined 8% in premarket despite an earnings beat.
• Pinterest fell 8.5% after it forecasted slower third-quarter revenue growth.
• Booking Holdings rose nearly 7% after it beat second-quarter profit estimates.
• Uber rose 3% in premarket after the U.K.’s Transport for London granted permission to launch supervised autonomous robotaxi vehicle trials with Wayve.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya

6 Hours Ago

SpaceX dives 10% after AI spending surge rattles investors

Ship 40 is stacked atop Booster 20 in preparation for Flight 13 at SpaceX’s South Texas facility in Cameron County, Texas, on July 22, 2026.
Reginald Mathalone | Nurphoto | Getty Images

SpaceX shares plunged on Wednesday after a surge in AI spending rattled investors and clouded an otherwise expectation-beating quarter

The stock was down over 10% in premarket trading

In SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company on Tuesday, Elon Musk’s space firm said its capital expenditures jumped sixfold to $18.4 billion in the second quarter. This figure was ahead of analyst expectations, with the majority of the spending going towards AI

Investors have been on edge this earnings season as concerns rise about whether large tech companies can prove their multibillion-dollar investments are yielding returns

Read the full story here

— Arjun Kharpal

7 Hours Ago

Kospi jumps nearly 4% as Asia markets close higher

Asia-Pacific markets rose Wednesday, with South Korean stocks leading gains

Kospi rose 3.8% to end the day at 6,598.26 and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 2.42% to 799.59

Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 3.7% to 66,300.44, while the Topix added 2.1% to 4,046.17. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to close at 9,227.8

Mainland China’s CSI 300 climbed 1.24% to 4,658.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.13% in the last hour of trade

— Lee Ying Shan

7 Hours Ago

Siemens Energy rises 2.7% after posting record earnings

23 July 2026, South Africa, Johannesburg: The Siemens Energy production facility, photographed prior to the visit by German Foreign Minister Wadephul.
Soeren Stache | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Siemens Energy was trading 3.4% up on Wednesday after the company posted record levels of orders, revenue and profitability for the third quarter. The company said order intake was driven primarily by U.S. demand

Orders reached 17.9 billion euros and revenue rose 18.5% on a comparable basis (excluding currency translation and portfolio effects) to 11.4 billion euros. Profit before Special items more than tripled to 1.6 billion euros, compared with 497 million euros in Q3 FY 2025

The stock has risen more than 50% in the past 12 months as the AI boom has led to huge demand for energy infrastructure

— Kai Nicol-Schwarz

8 Hours Ago

Infineon shares fall after best-ever sales quarter undershot profit expectations

Shares of Infineon fell around 5% at the market open as the German chipmaker’s profit margins came in lower than analysts expected. 

Infineon raised guidance for the rest of the year after posting record revenues in the third quarter, at €4.17 billion, compared to analysts’ estimates of €4.13 billion. 

But profit came in slightly lower than forecast, at €797 million against an expected €809 million

Infineon CFO Sven Schneider told CNBC on Tuesday that there may be “quarterly ups and downs” on revenue and profitability, but that the firm is focused on the “midterm journey.”

— Joseph Wilkins

8 Hours Ago

European stock markets start Wednesday’s session in the green

A broker is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 6, 2025.
Daniel Roland | Afp | Getty Images

Europe’s Stoxx 600 benchmark was up 0.47% shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:00 a.m. E.T.), as most of the continent’s sectors and main regional bourses opened Wednesday’s session decisively in the green

Mining stocks rose 2.6%, while retail names added 1.4%, and oil and gas companies were up 1.2%

In Frankfurt, the German DAX advanced 0.62% in early dealmaking, as Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.56% in Milan. In London, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 rose 0.39% and, in Paris, the French CAC 40 added 0.20% in morning trade

— Hugh Leask

8 Hours Ago

The Stoxx 600 just hit a record high – here’s what’s driving the pan-European index

The Stoxx 600 touched a record high on Tuesday, closing 0.7% higher at 656.86 points. That rally looks set to continue Wednesday, according to futures data

Its underlying sectoral picture has been particularly mixed year-to-date, with some pockets of the Stoxx faring better than others. Technology stocks and banks have done well, while luxury stocks and automakers have struggled

CNBC breaks down the leaders and laggards of 2026 so far

Read the full article here

— Joseph Wilkins

9 Hours Ago

Gold rises for third straight day as oil softens

Gold dore bars stacked at the Perth Mint Refinery, operated by Gold Corp., in Perth, Australia, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026.
Matt Jelonek | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Gold rose for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, as lower oil prices and a softer dollar boosted the yellow metal’s appeal. 

Spot gold rose 1.4% to around $4,152.36 an ounce, while gold futures rose 1.1% to $4,200.20. 

Gold continues to move inversely to oil, which dropped over 5% on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC an agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz could be imminent. 

Since the war began, gold has tended to move in line with other risk assets, which are coming off a bumper session that saw the S&P 500 top 7,700 for the first time

— Joseph Wilkins

10 Hours Ago

Oil slides as Bessent signals Hormuz deal is close

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaking with CNBC on Aug. 4th, 2026.
CNBC

Oil prices fell more than 1% Wednesday as investors assessed diplomatic efforts to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran

West Texas Intermediate futures for September delivery, the U.S. benchmark, declined about 1% to $74.97 per barrel. Brent crude futures for October delivery, the international benchmark, lost 0.8% to $78.77 a barrel. 

The U.S. military said Tuesday that commercial vessels continue to transit the Strait of Hormuz safely, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested a deal with Iran to reopen the strategic waterway could be reached within days

In a post on X, U.S. Central Command said the “southern route of the Strait of Hormuz remains free and open,” adding that U.S. forces had helped more than 1,000 commercial vessels navigate the passage despite what it described as “unwarranted” Iranian aggression

The southern shipping lane runs through Oman’s territorial waters, away from the section of the strait close to Iran

— Lee Ying Shan

11 Hours Ago

Shares of Zhongji Innolight, Eoptolink fall on reported moves aimed at U.S. import ban

Shares of Zhongji Innolight fell nearly 5% and Eoptolink Technology dropped 5.7% after Reuters reported that the Trump administration was drafting measures to ban imports of new models of Chinese optical transceivers as part of broader efforts to curb China’s AI development

Zhongji Innolight, which debuted on the Hong Kong stock market last week, said in its prospectus that it was the world’s largest provider of optical interconnect solutions, part of the AI ecosystem, by revenue

Peer Eoptolink manufactures optical modules used in broadband networks and data centers

— Jenny Lee

11 Hours Ago

Yen strengthens as investors watch for more intervention signals

A Japanese 10,000 yen banknote arranged in Kyoto, Japan, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The Japanese government’s push for pension funds and individuals to invest more in domestic markets is seen as a potential boost for the nation’s bonds and currency in the long term. Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Kentaro Takahashi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.19% to 157.41 against the dollar on Wednesday

Investors are now watching whether Japanese and U.S. authorities extend their currency operations beyond the initial burst of intervention, said Vincent Chung, co-portfolio manager for diversified income bond strategy at T. Rowe Price

“The yen has already recovered a meaningful portion of its previous underperformance against other Asian currencies, including the Korean won. If intervention continues, the yen could strengthen further against the U.S. dollar,” he wrote in a note on Wednesday

A longer campaign could support additional yen gains although markets remain skeptical that intervention alone can engineer a lasting reversal, Chung added

— Lee Ying Shan

13 Hours Ago

SoftBank jumps 10% as Asia tech stocks track Wall Street AI rally

Asian technology stocks surged Wednesday after a strong Wall Street rally overnight that saw robust corporate earnings and easing oil prices push major U.S. indexes to fresh records

Shares of SoftBank Group surged more than 10%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron added  3.64%. Advantest jumped 7%, and Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia rose 6.34%

In South Korea, SK Hynix jumped 6.9%, while Samsung Electronics gained over 4%. Seoul Semiconductor popped 7.6%

Tech stocks have been seeing heightened volatility, with South Korea’s semiconductor-heavy market whipsawing between steep losses and record gains in recent sessions

— Lee Ying Shan

14 Hours Ago

Australian equities hit record high; mining heavyweights rally

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.67%, hitting an intraday record high, data from LSEG showed

Index heavyweight iron ore giant BHP Group advanced 2.3%, while mining peer Rio Tinto added 1.68%. Iron ore producer Fortescue also added 0.5%. Year-to-date, the index gained around 5%

— Lee Ying Shan

14 Hours Ago

Samsung Electro-Mechanics, LG Innotek shares surge on reported Tesla camera module supply deals

Shares of Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 12% and LG Innotek surged 15% in early trading Wednesday after a local media report said the companies had secured exclusive contracts to supply camera modules for Tesla’s robotaxi, the Cybercab

Samsung Electro-Mechanics began mass production of the camera modules last month, while LG Innotek is expected to begin production toward the end of this year, Hankyung reported, citing industry

Korea stocks were broadly higher, with the Kospi index up nearly 5%

— Jenny Lee

15 Hours Ago

South Korea’s Kospi jumps 4% as Asia markets open higher

Asia-Pacific markets traded higher on Tuesday, with South Korean equities leading gains in the region. The Kospi was up over 4%, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.6%

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.83%, and the Topix added 0.9%

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.46% higher

— Lee Ying Shan

15 Hours Ago

Nikkei 225 Chicago futures rise after U.S. markets surge overnight

Asia’s equity futures signal markets will open higher Wednesday, after Wall Street rose overnight amid optimism over a U.S.-Iran deal

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington and Tehran could reach a deal as early as Tuesday or Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, boosting hopes for easing geopolitical tensions and lower energy prices

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz remains “free and open” for commercial shipping despite what it described as “unwarranted Iranian aggression.”

Nikkei 225 futures in Chicago were up 0.25%, while the Osaka contract was last up about 2.5% compared to the index’s last close of 63,957.53

Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 were last up 0.45%, compared to the index’s close of 9,145.8 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng futures edged 0.3% higher compared to the index’s last close of 25,852.92

— Lee Ying Shan

16 Hours Ago

SpaceX sinks following first earnings report

Dominika Zarzycka | Nurphoto | Getty Images

SpaceX shares were down about 7% in after-hours trading on Tuesday, following the company’s first-ever earnings report after going public in June

The rocket launch and connectivity company reported second-quarter revenue of $7.81 billion, versus $6.93 billion expected, and capital expenditures of $18.37 billion, which far exceeded analysts’ projections

— Tobias Burns

16 Hours Ago

Stocks making the biggest moves in extended trading

Several companies saw their shares move on earnings results

Arista Networks — Shares gained about 10% after second quarter results surpassed estimates. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.02 per share on revenue of $3.04 billion, versus the LSEG consensus estimate of 88 cents a share and $2.82 billion

AMD — The chipmaker plunged 8% after the bell on the back of second-quarter results that failed to impress investors. The company earned an adjusted $1.66 per share on revenue of $11.54 billion. To be sure, those numbers were slightly ahead of LSEG consensus estimates

Click here for more after-hours movers

17 Hours Ago

S&P 500 futures open little changed

Futures linked to the S&P 500 advanced 0.1% on Tuesday evening. Dow futures gained 94 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.1%

— Darla Mercado

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