CNBC

Lead Story

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sparked a massive market rally after revealing that the U.S. and Iran are in active negotiations to reopen the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, with a deal possible “today or tomorrow”. This diplomatic breakthrough triggered a sharp collapse in crude oil prices and fueled a spectacular 900-plus point surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new record high.

Markets & Economics

The S&P 500 broke out of its summer range, climbing nearly 2% to close above 7,700 for the first time, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 2.7% as investors aggressively rotated back into megacaps. The potential Hormuz resolution sent crude prices tumbling, with Brent crude sliding 5.3% to $79.36 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping 5.7% to $75.77. In a CNBC interview, Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson backed last week’s decision to hold rates at 3.5%-3.75%, calling current monetary policy “mildly restrictive” and stating the vote was “not a close call”. Meanwhile, Secretary Bessent defended the joint U.S.-Japan currency intervention, revealing the Treasury sold euros to buy yen to avoid destabilizing the sensitive U.S. Treasury market.

Business & Earnings

Palantir (PLTR) stole the spotlight, skyrocketing 29% on blowout Q2 results where a 149% surge in U.S. commercial revenue to $764 million was driven by urgent enterprise demand for “AI sovereignty”. In contrast, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) tumbled 8% in extended trading despite beating Q2 expectations with a 50% revenue climb to $11.54 billion, as investors fretted over its in-line Q3 sales guidance. Caterpillar (CAT) jumped 6% after lifting its full-year outlook, fueled by record power-generation and construction equipment backlogs driven by AI data center builds. Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco posted a 33% profit spike to $33.4 billion, demonstrating operational resilience by bypassing the disrupted Strait of Hormuz via its 1,200-kilometer East-West pipeline.

Investing & Commentary

CNBC’s Jim Cramer declared that the tech sector has been “unleashed” following the forced liquidation of Leopold Aschenbrenner’s highly leveraged “Situational Awareness” hedge fund, which effectively cleared out weak hands and removed a massive source of forced selling. On the contrarian side, Michael Burry warned that the market is “near a major top” and vulnerable to a “1987-type fall,” revealing he remains short on high-flying names like Nvidia, Tesla, and Palantir. Additionally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on newly listed SK Hynix with a highly bullish $300 price target, predicting a massive 100%-plus upside on long-term contracts for DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).

Also Worth Watching

• McDonald’s Skye Anderson Appointment: McDonald’s has named company veteran Skye Anderson as the new president of its U.S. business to accelerate growth in its slowing domestic market.
• P&G’s Thorne Acquisition: Consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble announced a $3.8 billion acquisition of supplement brand Thorne in a major push to expand its healthcare portfolio.
• New Jersey’s Amazon Lawsuit: New Jersey has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the retail giant of using its “monopsony” power to suppress delivery contractor wages and limit labor competition.
• Apple’s UK Encryption Battle: Apple launched a fresh legal challenge against the U.K. government’s attempt to force encrypted data access, sparking another transatlantic privacy row.

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