Business & Markets
Oil prices fall as Hormuz hopes lift stocks to records
Oil prices fell Tuesday after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a deal with Tehran could be reached by Wednesday to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, while stocks rose and several European indexes hit records.
Bessent told CNBC there was “a chance” of a deal on Tuesday or Wednesday to open the strait, a key route for Gulf oil and gas tankers that has been blocked for five months. He said he expected energy prices to settle back down if the waterway reopened.
Brent North Sea crude was down 4.9 percent at $79.69 a barrel around 1540 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was down 5.4 percent at $76.04.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.6 percent at 54,027.71 points, building on a record closing high on Monday. The S&P 500 gained 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq rose 2.0 percent.
In Europe, benchmark indexes in Paris and Milan closed at all-time highs. Frankfurt and Madrid extended records reached on Monday.
US President Donald Trump said the waterway could reopen within hours. Investors remained cautious after earlier announcements of an imminent deal to end the US-Iran war did not lead to an agreement. An unknown projectile also hit a cargo ship in the strait on Tuesday.
Patrick Munnelly, market strategist at Tickmill Group, said the market was pricing a lower risk of immediate military escalation but no guarantee that the Strait of Hormuz would return to normal.
Corporate earnings also supported sentiment. Palantir and Caterpillar were among companies whose results helped ease concerns after recent volatility linked to artificial intelligence spending and the impact of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
In energy company results, BP said its second-quarter profit more than doubled, though its shares fell nearly five percent. Saudi Aramco reported a 44 percent rise in net profit. BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies reported combined net profits of almost $47 billion for April to June.
Elsewhere, Lufthansa shares fell eight percent after the German airline said volatile jet fuel costs would affect full-year profit. Traders were also awaiting SpaceX earnings and US jobs data later in the week.
Update
Paris and Milan benchmark indexes closed at all-time highs.
Frankfurt and Madrid extended records reached on Monday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 16:07:50 UTC.
Update
Brent was down 4.9 percent at $79.69 a barrel around 1540 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate was down 5.4 percent at $76.04 a barrel around 1540 GMT.
The Dow was up 1.6 percent, the S&P 500 up 1.4 percent and the Nasdaq up 2.0 percent around 1540 GMT.
Lufthansa shares were down eight percent after the airline warned volatile jet fuel costs would affect full-year profit.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 15:53:40 UTC.
Update
Brent crude was down 4.5 percent at $79.98 a barrel around 1345 GMT, and West Texas Intermediate was down 5.2 percent at $76.19.
The Dow was up 1.0 percent, the S&P 500 up 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq up 1.2 percent around 1345 GMT.
An unknown projectile hit a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
US President Donald Trump said the waterway could reopen within hours, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC there could be a deal by Tuesday or Wednesday.
Saudi Aramco reported a 44 percent rise in net profit, and the five biggest Western energy majors reported combined April-June net profits of almost $47 billion.
Lufthansa shares fell 11 percent after the airline said volatile jet fuel costs would affect full-year profit.
Source note: AFP news report published on 4 August 2026 at 13:59:07 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
It remains unclear whether a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will be reached and when normal shipping traffic might resume.
The source did not identify who was responsible for the projectile that hit a cargo ship in the strait.
Source
AFP news report published on .