U.S. stocks were higher on Tuesday, while oil prices slid as traders reacted to a number of solid earnings results.
The S&P 500 rose 0.81%, hitting a new all-time high and closing at a record of 7,259.22. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.03%, touching a new high and notching a closing record of 25,326.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 356.35 points, or 0.73%, to end at 49,298.25.
Crude prices declined across the board, giving equities a boost. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dipped 3.9% to settle at $102.27 per barrel. Brent crude futures lost 3.99% to close at $109.87.
The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran remains fragile amid fresh attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the ceasefire "certainly holds" and that "two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already safely transited the strait, showing the lane is clear."
That comes after President Donald Trump said earlier this week that the U.S. will "guide" stranded ships through the strait.
Adding to the momentum in equities were yet another batch of better-than-expected quarterly results. Notably, DuPont de Nemours shares gained 8% after its first-quarter earnings and revenue beat expectations. U.S.-listed shares of Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev popped more than 8% following its upbeat quarterly results.
Palantir Technologies was the exception, however, as shares retreated nearly 7% even after the company's first-quarter results surpassed analyst expectations, with revenue seeing the fastest growth since the company debuted on the public market debut in 2020. It also raised its full-year guidance.
To date, roughly 85% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have beaten expectations, according to FactSet data.
"We've seen just incredible earnings from not just the megacap tech but also the broad-based S&P 500, or even the small-cap indices within the U.S.," said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments.
When you couple that with the market's belief that both the U.S. and Iran "want some sort of resolution to this conflict," that explains why the market is trading at all-time high levels, Hill continued.
"The market is largely over the Strait of Hormuz situation," he said. "I think it would take a material change in the facts on the ground or a really large spike in the price of oil for the market to get re-engaged with the back and forth of that conflict."
