Washington (United States) (AFP) – World stock markets shone on Tuesday and set new records, supported by buoyant corporate results and the hope of detente in the Middle East, which brought the barrel of oil below 80 dollars.

Published on: 08/04/2026 - 2:39 p.m. Modified on: 08/04/2026 - 10:58 p.m.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones (+1.71%) and the broader S&P 500 index (+1.79%) ended at a historic high. The Nasdaq jumped 2.59%.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.61% and exceeded its record of February 26, 2026 just before the war in the Middle East. London also progressed (+0.20%).

Milan (+1.26%) and Frankfurt (+0.77%) also reached new heights and Madrid (+0.21%) crossed the threshold of 20,000 points for the first time.

Today's session "perfectly illustrates the way in which the markets react when a member of this administration (American, editor's note) makes a statement concerning the Strait of Hormuz", comments Art Hogan, analyst at wealth manager B. Riley Wealth Management, to AFP.

Washington shared its optimism about talks with Iran, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking of "progress" while Finance Minister Scott Bessent spoke of an agreement "today or tomorrow (Wednesday)" to "reopen" the strait.

It didn't take much to send oil prices plummeting.

A barrel of Brent from the North Sea, an international benchmark, lost 5.26% to $79.36, the lowest closing price since July 10. Its American equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by 5.69% to $75.77.

This decline allowed pressure to be eased on the bond market.

The yield on American government bonds maturing ten years thus eased significantly, to 4.61% around 8:40 p.m. compared to 4.68% at the close on Monday, while remaining much higher than before the war.

In Europe, the ten-year German "Bund" also fell to 3.10% against 3.15%, as did ten-year French bonds (3.89% against 3.93%).

Strong results

These developments relieve investors, with Art Hogan evoking a “more serene climate”.

The easing of energy prices notably improves the profit prospects of companies most exposed to energy costs (industries, automobiles).

The results season, which is in full swing, also brings positive surprises.

On the American side, “we have recorded spectacular quarterly results so far, one of the best seasons we have had in years, despite very high expectations,” notes Mr. Hogan.

Performance in Europe is not to be outdone, as shown by the accounts of the banking group BPCE published after the session (+38% of net profit to 1.3 billion euros).

After four of the technology giants and the world's largest stock market valuations last week, the markets were also preparing for the publication of SpaceX results.

Elon Musk's group, which made a sensational debut on Wall Street in June before taking a nosedive, published a turnover up 92% over one year and a net loss much smaller than expected by analysts.

However, the stock lost nearly 7% in post-closing trading.

Rise interrupted for the yen

On the foreign exchange market, the Japanese yen was trading at 157.74 yen per dollar around 8:45 p.m. GMT, a decline of 0.36%.

This is the first session of decline in almost a week.

Tokyo and Washington agreed to massively buy back yen on the market, and strengthen the value of the currency, after it had recently slipped to its lowest level in 40 years against the dollar.

Scotiabank analysts point out that the fundamental elements behind the weakness of the Japanese currency, in particular the significant gap between the rates practiced in Japan and the United States, “remain unchanged”.

© 2026 AFP

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