Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., August 4, 2026.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Futures linked to the S&P 500 were little changed on Tuesday evening following the second day of a huge rally across the major indices that saw the broad market index close at a record high.
Dow futures were up 90 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures added 0.1%. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.2%.
In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi led gains at open, rising over 4%, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.6%. Japan’sNikkei 225 rose 1.83%, and the Topix added 0.9%. Australia’s benchmarkS&P/ASX 200 was 0.46% higher.
In U.S. after-hours trading, SpaceX lost almost 7% after Elon Musk’s company said capital expenditures climbed to $18.4 billion in the second quarter. Chip giant AMD dropped 8% after posting adjusted earnings that only came slightly ahead of the Street’s estimates.
Markets jumped Tuesday, lifted by solid earnings and comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the U.S. and Iran could be closing in on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.The S&P 500 rose 1.8% to close above 7,700 for the first time, and the Dow gained more than 900 points for another record close.
Oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropping by 5.7% to settle at $75.77 per barrel.
Caterpillar, which reported earnings Tuesday and had a blowout quarter due to the ongoing artificial intelligence buildout, also boosted the equity rally.Shares rose more than 5%. Palantir Technologies popped almost 30% on the heels of quarterly results CEO Alex Karp called “otherworldly.”
“The only thing that really mattered was the question on ROI driving earnings higher and the question of whether or not earnings are in a bubble – and the answer is no,” Alicia Levine, chief investment officer at BNY Wealth, told CNBC.
Entertainment heavy-hitter Disney is slated to report on Wednesday morning. Results are also due for ride-sharing giant Uber and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. E.l.f Beauty and DoorDash will share quarterly reports in the afternoon.
On the economic front, traders will be watching for ADP’s private payrolls report for July, out Wednesday morning. The Dow Jones consensus estimate anticipates private employers added 75,000 jobs last month. The S&P Global Services PMI and ISM non-manufacturing readings for July are also due.
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