Nasdaq Hits Record High as Oil Retreats and Earnings Beat Expectations

CNBC reported Tuesday that U.S. equities pushed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite reaching a new all-time intraday record as sliding crude prices and a robust run of corporate earnings fueled broad-based gains.

The S&P 500 advanced roughly 0.9% on the session. The Nasdaq record high came alongside a 1% gain for the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 314 points, or approximately 0.6%.

Oil Retreat Adds Fuel to the Rally

Falling energy prices gave stocks additional room to run. West Texas Intermediate crude futures dropped around 4%, trading near $57 per barrel. Brent crude futures fell approximately 3%, hovering just above $59 a barrel.

The declines came despite lingering tension around the Strait of Hormuz following a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated Tuesday that the ceasefire “certainly holds.” He added that two U.S. commercial ships and accompanying destroyers had already navigated the strait without incident. Markets appeared to take reassurance from those comments.

Earnings Season Continues to Outperform

Corporate results remained a primary driver of investor confidence. Shares of DuPont de Nemours surged roughly 8% after the materials giant topped Wall Street estimates on both revenue and profit. Belgian brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev also climbed around 8% following its own better-than-expected quarterly figures.

The standout laggard was Palantir Technologies, whose shares fell approximately 6% despite the data analytics company posting its fastest revenue growth since its 2020 market debut and lifting its full-year guidance.

With the bulk of S&P 500 companies now having reported, FactSet data showed around 85% beating analyst forecasts. Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments, told CNBC the breadth of outperformance was remarkable. He noted strong results were coming not just from large-cap technology names but from smaller companies across the index as well.

Background: A Market Finding Its Footing

The rally follows weeks of volatility tied to geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and lingering concerns over trade policy. Equity markets had struggled to sustain momentum earlier in the spring as oil price swings rattled sentiment. Tuesday’s session marked a notable shift, with 42 S&P 500 components reaching fresh 52-week highs. Names including Alphabet, Amazon, Caterpillar, and Broadcom all touched record levels.

Hill suggested the market has largely moved past its preoccupation with the Strait of Hormuz standoff. Only a significant escalation or a sharp new spike in crude prices, he said, was likely to re-engage investor anxiety around the conflict.

Read Next: Fed Holds Rates Steady as Powell Flags Uncertainty Over Trade Outlook