NEW YORK — The Dow closed at a record high Wednesday on signs of progress for a peace deal with Iran, while the Nasdaq saw its first decline in five sessions as SpaceX and AMD stumbled following their quarterly earnings.
A proposed deal between Iran and Oman would give Tehran control over ships entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters, in one of the biggest concessions yet to Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 263.18 points, or 0.49%, to 54,349.06. The S&P 500 lost 13.00 points, or 0.17%, to 7,723.52 and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 221.55 points, or 0.83%, to 26,363.44.
Elon Musk-led SpaceX's revenue nearly doubled and operating losses narrowed in its first earnings report since going public, fueled by its booming Starlink satellite communications and artificial intelligence businesses, but shares tumbled 13.6% on concerns about how long the company could maintain spending on AI-related investments such as data centers.
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Shares could face additional pressure from the expiry of the stock's post-IPO lock-up period starting Thursday.
Advanced Micro Devices forecast quarterly revenue above estimates, reflecting strong AI demand. However, shares dropped 7% as investors look for greater evidence that the massive AI spending will result in faster growth.
A 4.6% gain in Amgen helped buoy the Dow, providing more than 100 points to the upside for the average, as second-quarter sales for the drugmaker rose 9%. Rival Eli Lilly jumped 4.9% after raising its full-year revenue forecast and the S&P 500 healthcare closed up 1.3%, one of the best-performing sectors on the session.
Also helping to boost the Dow was a 3.6% rise in Disney shares after beating third-quarter profit expectations.
On the data front, U.S. private payrolls growth slowed in July, as per the ADP national employment report. The data was the second in a string of reports on the labor market this week before Friday's government payrolls report.
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index inched up to 54.1 last month from 54.0 in June, below the 54.5 estimate of economists polled by Reuters but above the 50 threshold that signals growth.
Data largely reflected a stable labor market, but the war that began Feb. 28 with U.S.and Israeli strikes on Iran kept concerns about price pressures and the Fed's response as a primary concern among investors.
Expectations for a rate hike from the central bank at its September meeting dipped to 54.9%, according to CME FedWatch, down from 58.3% a week ago.
