US stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average scaling a fresh record high, as hopes of a breakthrough in talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and upbeat corporate earnings fuelled risk appetite.
In real-time trading (9:32 a.m. EDT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 758.29 points, or 1.43%, to 53,936.70. The S&P 500 gained 43.51 points, or 0.57%, to 7,644.01, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 259.56 points, or 1.00%, to 26,173.46 after rising as much as 1.4% earlier in the session.
Investor sentiment improved after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was engaged in discussions with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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"We are in talks with the Iranians. 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," Bessent said in an interview with CNBC's Squawk Box.
The remarks pushed oil prices lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling nearly 3% to around $77 a barrel, while Brent crude slipped about 2% to roughly $81 a barrel, easing concerns over energy supply disruptions.
Corporate earnings also lifted the market. Caterpillar surged about 10% after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, raising its revenue growth outlook and saying tariff-related costs would likely come in at the lower end of its previous guidance.
Palantir Technologies jumped more than 15% in premarket trading after posting robust quarterly results driven by booming demand for sovereign artificial intelligence solutions. Palantir's commercial revenue rose 149% year-on-year to $764 million.
The upbeat results spilled over to the broader technology sector. Micron Technology gained about 4%, while Marvell Technology advanced nearly 8% in early trade.
Wall Street entered Tuesday's session on a strong footing after the Dow closed at a record high on Monday. Amazon crossed the $3 trillion market capitalisation milestone for the first time, while Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft also posted solid gains.
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The S&P 500 now sits just 0.27% below its all-time intraday high, underscoring the market's continued momentum.
Investors are also awaiting US June factory orders and international trade data later in the day, while newly listed SpaceX is scheduled to report its first quarterly earnings as a public company.
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