WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Wall Street was able to shake off early weakness and find modest gains on Tuesday, with each of the three major averages hitting record closing highs for the third day in a row.
The Dow added 228.91 points or 0.45 percent to finish at 51,307.79, while the NASDAQ rose 7.09 points or 003 percent to close at 27,093.90 and the S&P 500 added 9.86 points or 0.13 percent to end at 7,609.82.
Stocks had benefitted from optimism for an end to the U.S.-Iran conflict in the past few sessions, but differing accounts from U.S. President Donald Trump and the Israelian Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dampened hopes. A rebound by the price of crude oil also limited the upside.
Crude oil prices jumped on Tuesday as the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has been delayed. Also, global energy watchdogs warn of accelerating crude oil inventory depletion. West Texas Intermediate crude for July was up $1.57 or 1.70 percent at $93.73 per barrel.
While uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East has kept some traders on the sidelines, optimism about the AI trade continues to generate positive sentiment on Wall Street.
Semiconductor stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 4.5 percent to a record intraday high.
Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.6 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Steel, oil service and banking stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while software and biotechnology stocks are pulling back sharply.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.77 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.48 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.33 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have given back ground after an early surge but remain in positive territory. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.8 basis points at 4.447 percent.
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