Euro area July services PMI (final) 51.7, vs consensus 51.6 and prior 51.6.

Abas Aslani, senior researcher at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, said recent US and Iranian rhetoric and actions produced a period of volatility—days ago markets expected a major escalation; now observers are discussing a possible Strait of Hormuz agreement. He noted a disconnect: the sides were exchanging threats until recently, and although both report progress, we are not there yet. Aslani said the pact would be a useful first step but would not resolve all issues; it could let Iran and the US focus on restarting a memorandum of understanding and, if effectively implemented, move toward a final nuclear agreement.

Dow and S&P 500 gains widened to 2%; Nasdaq rose 2.7%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 7% as Arm jumped 17.4%, Intel climbed 10.9%, AMD gained 9.3%, Broadcom and Qualcomm rose over 7%, and NVIDIA added 2.5%.