12:40 PM EDT, 08/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose as earnings helped boost technology while a slide in crude oil and government bond yields added to confidence that Iran is nearing a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1% to 26,458.2, with the S&P 500 up 1.5% to 7,711.4 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 1.7% to 54,078.7. The S&P 500 and the Dow touched their respective 52-week highs intraday. Technology was the standout gainer, followed by materials and industrials. Utilities and real estate led decliners.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) surged 26%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, after Q2 sales and adjusted earnings surpassed analysts' estimates and the company, one of the most prominent names in the artificial intelligence industry, boosted its full-year 2026 revenue outlook.

VanEck Semiconductor Exchange Traded Fund (SMH), with net assets of $77.2 billion, jumped 4.2%.

The prospect of a US-Iran deal appeared to be gaining traction on Tuesday, after Qatar said a proposal had been drafted and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sounded hopeful on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent said a deal to open the Strait could come as early as "today or tomorrow," allowing "freedom of movement" for commercial vessels, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported.

The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 4.5% to $76.74 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent slid 4% to $80.42 a barrel.

US Treasury yields dropped, with the 10-year down 4.3 basis points to 4.64%. The two-year yield slid 5.2 basis points to 4.2%.