U.S. stocks kicked off August on a strong note to send the Dow Industrials to a closing record high, as signs of de-escalating U.S.-Iran tensions pulled down oil prices and Treasury yields in a busy week for earnings and economic data. Crude prices settled down about 5% after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that talks with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz would take place on Monday, though Iran disputed that talks were planned. The drop in oil prices helped push U.S. Treasury yields lower, even as market participants continued to gauge the odds of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve should the Iran war continue for a prolonged period.
Communication services was the best performing of the 11 major S&P sectors, climbing more than 4% on gains from Meta Platforms and Alphabet. Energy dropped more than 1% as the worst performer on the session.
