After-Hours US Stocks: US-Iran Talks Show Progress! Dow and S&P Hit New Highs, SOX Soars Over 6.5%, SpaceX Plunges After Hours

U.S. stocks rallied broadly on Tuesday (4th), as markets digested progress in U.S.-Iran talks while reacting to a wave of corporate earnings. Large-cap tech and semiconductor stocks led the rally, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging over 6.5%. The Nasdaq Composite jumped nearly 3%, while the S&P 500 closed above 7,700 for the first time, both the S&P and Dow Jones Industrial Average setting new all-time closing highs.

Semiconductor stocks continued their rebound from July's slump. SK Hynix ADR (SKHY-US) surged over 8%, Sandisk (SNDK-US) soared over 10%, Micron climbed over 7%, and Marvell (MRVL-US) rocketed nearly 13%, signaling renewed investor confidence in AI-driven data center investments and chip demand.

International oil prices fell sharply. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the U.S. and Iran could reach an agreement as early as Tuesday or Wednesday on improving navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Rising hopes for a diplomatic resolution to Middle East tensions led markets to lower their risk assessment of oil supply disruptions.

On the economic front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday (4th) that job openings in June decreased by 178,000 to 7.359 million, below the expected 7.4 million. The job openings rate also dipped from 4.5% to 4.4%. This is the first major labor market data of the week and offers clues ahead of Friday’s release of the July non-farm payrolls report.

Key U.S. stock indices on Tuesday (4th):

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 907.47 points, or 1.71%, to 54,085.88.

Nasdaq Composite surged 671.10 points, or 2.59%, to 26,584.99.

S&P 500 gained 136.02 points, or 1.79%, to 7,736.52.

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index skyrocketed 748.91 points, or 6.55%, to 12,179.26.

NYSE FANG+ Index climbed 779.90 points, or 4.39%, to 18,532.05.

Key Stocks

Tech giants in the NYSE FANG+ Index showed mixed results. Meta (META-US) fell 0.39%; Apple (AAPL-US) rose 1.96%; Alphabet (GOOGL-US) gained 1.11%; Microsoft (MSFT-US) advanced 1.06%; Amazon (AMZN-US) dropped 2.32%.

Philadelphia Semiconductor stocks rallied across the board. AMD (AMD-US) surged 7.00%; Broadcom (AVGO-US) rose 6.61%; Nvidia (NVDA-US) gained 2.56%; Applied Materials (AMAT-US) jumped 5.48%; Qualcomm (QCOM-US) soared 7.32%; Micron (MU-US) climbed 7.62%.

Taiwanese ADRs mostly rose. TSMC ADR (TSM-US) gained 2.72%; ASE ADR (ASX-US) surged 5.51%; UMC ADR (UMC-US) rocketed 10.38%; Chunghwa Telecom ADR (CHT-US) fell 1.27%.

Corporate News

Strong earnings reports were a key driver of the market rally. Palantir (PLTR-US) saw its stock surge 29.45% to $162.66 per share after reporting robust results, marking its best single-day performance in over two years.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp described the quarter as "beyond imagination," with U.S. commercial revenue growing 90% year-over-year, further reinforcing optimistic expectations for AI demand.

Caterpillar (CAT-US), known as the "canary in the coal mine" for the economy, also rose on strong earnings. The Dow component, which benefits from AI infrastructure expansion, reported sales and revenue surpassing $20 billion for the first time, driving its stock up 5.60% to $876.54 per share.

SpaceX (SPCX-US) rose 9.43% during regular trading to $125.33 per share but plunged over 6% after hours.

After the close, SpaceX reported Q2 revenue of $7.81 billion, nearly 15% above expectations, with adjusted EPS loss narrowing from $0.34 to $0.09 year-over-year. However, investors focused on its massive AI infrastructure spending, ongoing net losses, and lack of forward guidance. These concerns outweighed the strong results, dragging down after-hours trading.

AMD reported Q2 revenue up 50% year-over-year to a record $11.536 billion, beating expectations, with data center revenue up 107%. Although AMD forecasted a midpoint of $13 billion in Q3 revenue—above analyst expectations—it failed to meet higher investor hopes, causing its after-hours stock to drop over 8% at one point.

Amazon (AMZN-US) fell about 2% to $277.42 per share. The company’s market cap had briefly crossed $3 trillion on Monday, but profit-taking followed after founder Bezos disclosed a planned sale of approximately $4 billion in shares.

Wall Street Analysis

Overall earnings season performance continues to support the market. According to FactSet, over 84% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have exceeded earnings expectations.

Thierry Wizman, Macquarie Group’s global FX and rates strategist, noted that the rapid three-day rally in U.S. stocks suggests markets are barely pricing in ongoing external risks. Concerns about cloud AI giants over-consuming cash through data center investments have eased, semiconductor stocks have rebounded from July’s slump, and overall corporate earnings have not disappointed, collectively pushing U.S. stocks to new highs.

Additionally, Tony Miano, strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, pointed out that markets are pricing in expectations of restored navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, aiding a gradual normalization of global oil supply. Lower oil prices could also ease energy costs and inflation pressures.

He cautioned, however, that inflation won’t quickly return to normal levels. Even as energy price pressures ease, overall prices may remain elevated in the short term, limiting the downside potential for U.S. Treasury yields.

(All figures are updated as of press time; actual prices may vary.)