Business & Markets
Dow hits third record as markets weigh Hormuz deal
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a third straight record on Wednesday, even as other major Wall Street indexes lost ground while investors weighed company earnings and prospects for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Dow ended up 0.5% at 54,349.12. The S&P 500 closed down 0.2% at 7,723.55, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to 26,363.44 after early Wall Street gains faded.
Oil prices finished mixed as markets assessed a possible US-Iran deal involving the Strait of Hormuz. Brent North Sea crude edged up 0.1% to $79.45 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.7% to $75.22.
Iran's foreign ministry said Iran and Oman had agreed a route for ships transiting the strait and were finalising arrangements to manage the waterway together. Iranian official sources briefing state media said any reopening would depend on the United States fulfilling what Tehran sees as a commitment to end its naval blockade of Iran's ports.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, quoted by state news agency IRNA, said factors making the strait insecure still existed, including what he called a US naval blockade and other threatening actions against Iran.
Oil prices had fallen on Monday and Tuesday after Trump administration officials said they were close to an accord with Iran that would reopen the strait.
In Europe, London closed up 0.1%, Paris was flat after a record high on Tuesday, and Frankfurt ended down 0.3%. Earlier, Asian equities rose after a rebound in technology stocks, with Seoul up 3.8%, Tokyo up 3.7%, Shanghai up 1.5% and Hong Kong up 0.2%.
Among companies, SpaceX fell 13.6% after Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company posted its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company. Analysts pointed to concern about spending after expenditures exceeded $18 billion in the three months ending in June. Advanced Micro Devices slipped around 7%.
Update
The Dow closed up 0.5% at 54,349.12, its third straight record close.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 0.8%.
Brent crude closed up 0.1% at $79.45 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed down 0.7% at $75.22.
SpaceX shares ended down 13.6% after its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company.
AMD shares slipped around 7%.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 20:20:27 UTC.
Update
The Dow's early 1.2% gain was trimmed to 0.8% about two hours into Wall Street trading.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.1%.
SpaceX was down almost 9%, compared with an earlier 12% fall.
London closed up 0.1%, Paris was flat and Frankfurt closed down 0.3%.
Iran and Oman said they had agreed a route for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and were finalising joint management arrangements.
Brent and WTI turned lower, with Brent below $80 a barrel.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 16:23:13 UTC.
Update
The Dow was up 1.2% at 54,592.44 shortly after Wall Street opened, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also gained.
SpaceX fell 12% after its first quarterly earnings report, with investors focused on more than $18 billion in quarterly spending despite a 92% revenue rise.
London, Paris and Frankfurt were all higher around two hours before the European close.
Brent crude was up 1.0% at $80.11 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was up 0.5% at $76.15 around 1345 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 14:08:09 UTC.
Update
European markets were more subdued by midday after several indexes hit fresh highs earlier in the session.
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.3% around 1100 GMT, weighed by a 6% drop in HSBC shares.
Brent rose 1.3% to $80.39 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 0.5% to $76.12.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea.
Glencore shares rose 3% in London after the company reported a return to profit in the first half of the year.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 11:40:33 UTC.
Update
Hong Kong closed up 0.2% at 25,915.82 instead of the earlier intraday figure.
London was up 0.3% around 0810 GMT, while Paris and Frankfurt hit fresh record highs.
West Texas Intermediate was up 0.2% at $75.89 and Brent was up 0.7% at $79.95 in early European trade.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 3.7% at 66,300.44 and Seoul's Kospi closed up 3.8% at 6,598.26.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 08:15:54 UTC.
Update
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 3.7% at 66,300.44.
Seoul's Kospi closed up 3.8% at 6,598.26.
Taipei rose 2.9%, while Shanghai closed up 1.5% and Hong Kong was up 0.4% around 0715 GMT.
London, Paris and Frankfurt opened higher.
President Donald Trump warned Iran would be hit very hard unless the Strait of Hormuz reopened very soon.
Axios reported that the United States, Iran and Oman were nearing an interim deal to reopen the strait, which Washington hoped to announce Wednesday.
WTI crude was down 0.8% at $75.20 and Brent was down 0.4% at $79.05 around 0715 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 August 2026 at 07:26:28 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
No final US-Iran agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was reported in the supplied material.
Iranian official sources said reopening remained conditional on US action.
Source
AFP news report published on .