Interest rate hopes continued to inject optimism into the market, with traders now 93.3% certain a cut will come in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool. A swarm of bank and blue-chip earnings also helped the Dow to a fresh record high, fifth-straight daily win, and best day since June 2023. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out a third consecutive day in the black, with the latter a capturing a record high of its own.

OIL DRAGGED FOR 3RD-STRAIGHT SESSION

Oil prices suffered a third-straight drop on the back of rising worries around demand in China. August-dated West Intermediate (WTI) crude shed $1.15, or 1.4%, to settle at $80.76 per barrel.

Interest rate buzz continued to capture commodity traders, weighing on the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields. August-dated gold futures added $38.90, or 1.6% to settle at a record $2,467.80 an ounce for the day.

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