Stock market today: Dow and S&P 500 rise as oil falls, Nasdaq digests tech earnings

US stocks steadied on Wednesday after a searing rally as oil declined for the third day in a row amid growing hopes that the Strait of Hormuz could soon reopen.

Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 ( NQ=F ) were little changed in premarket trading. Futures for the S&P 500 ( ES=F ) and Dow Jones Industrial Average ( YM=F ) both gained slightly after the indexes closed at record highs.

A rise in Asian markets overnight pointed toward a strong open as global markets cheered diplomatic efforts for another peace deal between the US and Iran — no matter how fragile. South Korea's KOSPI ( ^KS11 ) index led gains, rising 4%.

On Tuesday, Qatar said a proposal had been drafted between the US and Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for a fifth of the world's oil. Iran is also reportedly considering allowing European countries to remove mines from the strait, adding to confidence that shipping traffic in the region could normalize.

Oil prices fell in premarket trading on the news, with the global benchmark Brent crude ( BZ=F ) declining 1% to $78 per barrel, while WTI crude oil futures ( CL=F ), the US benchmark, fell below $75 per barrel.

Earnings, meanwhile, continue to underpin the stock market, though SpaceX ( SPCX ) didn't receive the Wall Street welcome it was looking for in its first report as a public company. Shares of the Elon Musk-led company fell 7% as its AI spending overshadowed a second quarter earnings beat. SpaceX stock faces additional pressure this week when 20% of shares will be unlocked for trading.

Investors will also be on the lookout for quarterly reports from Eli Lilly ( LLY ), Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), Western Digital ( WDC ), Sandisk ( SNDK ), Walt Disney ( DIS ), Shopify ( SHOP ), and Uber Technologies ( UBER ) on Wednesday.