Dow Jones and S&P 500 at record highs on hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz

Stock futures rose Wednesday morning, building on Tuesday's rally that pushed the S&P 500 above 7,700 for the first time and the Dow up more than 900 points to another record close. Dow futures were up 195 points , S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 futures added more than 0.1%.

Tuesday's surge was fueled by strong earnings and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments suggesting the U.S. and Iran could be nearing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices down sharply. Caterpillar rose more than 5% on an AI-buildout-driven blowout quarter, and Palantir soared almost 30%.

Asia followed suit, as South Korea's Kospi jumped over 4%, Japan's Nikkei rose 3%, and the Topix and ASX 200 also gained, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped slightly and China's CSI 300 was flat.

SpaceX fell nearly 7% after-hours on rising capex ($18.4B in Q2), and AMD dropped 8% despite beating estimates, as results only slightly topped expectations.

Looking ahead, investors will closely monitor ADP private payrolls, estimated to increase by 68K jobs and July's Services PMI/ISM non-manufacturing readings.

In the currency market, the Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 157.40 against the dollar Wednesday, as investors watch whether Japan and the U.S. extend currency intervention efforts.

Gold is extending its recovery today, climbing from near $4,020 to above the $4,100 level, boosted by falling oil prices and fading US-Iran tensions. A weaker dollar, pressured by soft jobs data and risk-on flows, is also helping gold break higher.