Wall Street had itself another banner day, and if you were watching the markets instead of the talking heads, you probably noticed something remarkable. The S&P 500 hit another record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average did the same. The Nasdaq came charging higher. Investors weren’t running for the exits—they were piling in.
According to Investopedia, the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.6 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 1.8 percent, and the Dow jumped 1.7 percent. That’s more than 900 points added to the Dow in a single session, good enough for its second record close of the week. The S&P also crossed a milestone it had never reached before, finishing above 7,700, while the Dow ended the day at 54,086.88.
Now, here’s what was driving the action.
Corporate earnings came in stronger than expected, and one company stole the spotlight. Palantir blew past Wall Street’s estimates, raised its guidance for the months ahead, and watched its stock explode nearly 30 percent in a single day. That’s the kind of move that grabs traders’ attention in a hurry, and it helped push both the Nasdaq and the S&P higher.
The gains weren’t limited to technology either.
🚨 IT’S OFFICIAL: President Trump is now expecting gas to plummet toward $2.50 per gallon if a deal is struck with Iran
“If we have no friction, I think it’ll go down to $2.50 per gallon. It was $1.85 before I made this little journey to the Islamic Republic of Iran. I had to… pic.twitter.com/uG74ikKQpM
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 5, 2026
Industrial heavyweight Caterpillar climbed 5.5 percent. McDonald’s added another 1 percent. Suddenly, it wasn’t just one corner of the market doing the heavy lifting. Investors were buying across multiple sectors.
And then Wednesday arrived.
According to CNBC, the momentum didn’t disappear overnight. The S&P and the Dow opened at fresh all-time highs once again.
Disney shares surged more than 4 percent after delivering better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. Eli Lilly also impressed Wall Street, climbing roughly 5 percent after reporting stronger-than-anticipated revenue and profit.
But there was another piece of news hanging over the markets—oil.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States and Iran could be closing in on an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes for crude oil. Traders immediately took notice.
Oil prices eased after the announcement. CNBC reported that West Texas Intermediate crude hovered around $75 per barrel while Brent crude traded near $80.
Why does that matter?
Because energy prices ripple through almost every part of the economy.
Earlier this year, before Operation Epic Fury targeting Iran began in February, Brent crude traded around $70 a barrel. As tensions escalated, gasoline prices climbed sharply. According to The New York Times, the national average rose from roughly $3.00 per gallon to about $4.50 in May. AAA now lists the average at approximately $4.08.
President Donald Trump believes there’s room for those prices to fall much further.
Speaking with Fox News on Tuesday night, Trump predicted that if shipping through the Strait of Hormuz returns to normal, increased oil supplies could eventually push gasoline down to around $2.50 per gallon.
On August 4, the #GDPNow model nowcast of real GDP growth in Q3 2026 is 5.9%: https://t.co/T7FoDdgYos. #ATLFedResearch
Download our EconomyNow app or go to our website for the latest GDPNow nowcast: https://t.co/JPMzsC5TNo. pic.twitter.com/lfyQTtwN13
— Atlanta Fed (@AtlantaFed) August 4, 2026
He also pointed to the broader economy as evidence that markets are responding positively.
“Now you take a look, with [the Iran conflict] going on… we hit an all-time stock market high. 401(k)s are the highest they’ve ever been by double and triple. And then I read we’re doing badly on the economy,” Trump said.
He wasn’t finished.
“By the way, job numbers: we have more people working in the United States today than ever in history. We’re doing an unbelievable job.”
And then there’s the growth forecast.
The Atlanta Federal Reserve is projecting annualized GDP growth of 5.9 percent for the third quarter ending Sept. 30. That’s an eye-popping figure by modern standards. If it holds, it would rank among the strongest quarterly performances in decades and invite comparisons to the economic surge that followed Ronald Reagan’s tax reforms, when GDP expanded at a 7.6 percent annualized pace during the third quarter of 1983.
For context, the economy grew at a 2.3 percent annualized rate during the final quarter of President Joe Biden’s administration in 2024, after posting 2.8 percent growth in the previous quarter.
