US equities rallied intraday, fueled by upbeat earnings reports and hopes that the Strait of Hormuz would soon reopen.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 2.6% at 26,591.3 after midday Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2% to 54,214.6. The S&P 500 advanced 1.8% to 7,743.73. All three main indexes posted gains on Monday, with the Dow notching a record closing high.
Among sectors, technology paced the gainers intraday Tuesday with its 4.3% jump, while utilities led the laggards.
Palantir Technologies' (PLTR) stock surged nearly 30%, the best performer on the S&P 500, as the company late Monday lifted its full-year revenue guidance on the back of stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.
Caterpillar (CAT) was the biggest gainer on the Dow, up 6.9%. The company raised its full-year revenue outlook as it generated more than $20 billion in sales for the first time in a single quarter.
Snap (SNAP) soared nearly 14% after the social media company announced second-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 5.3% to $76.05 a barrel intraday, while Brent declined 5% to $79.56.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the US and Iran could reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows, by Wednesday.
"We are in talks with the Iranians," Bessent said. "There is a chance we may have a deal today or tomorrow to open the strait and move towards a more normalized position in this conflict."
Efforts to resolve the US-Iran conflict are "in very progressive stages," according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari, CNN reported.
Treasury yields fell intraday, with the two-year yield down 5.8 basis points at 4.2% and the 10-year yield dropping 5.3 basis points to 4.63%.
SpaceX (SPCX) shares were up 7.9% intraday with the rocket and satellite company expected to release its first quarterly results since going public after market close Tuesday, along with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Arista Networks (ANET), Amgen (AMGN) and Gilead Sciences (GILD).
Spot gold rose 1% to $4,094.44 per troy ounce, while silver jumped 4.1% to $60.23 per ounce.



