Dow rallies 600 points, boosted by strong earnings and a steep decline in oil

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Tuesday as blue-chip companies rolled out their latest earnings results and oil prices slid for another day.

The Dow traded 659 points higher, or 1.3%. Sherwin-Williams rose 8% on the back of better-than-expected results for Q2 to lead the benchmark higher. Beverage giant Coca-Cola popped 5% on a top- and bottom-line beat, plus a hike to its full-year outlook. The S&P 500 was last up 0.3%.

The Nasdaq Composite was little changed, as a rally in software stocks helped lift the tech-heavy index later in the session. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) popped almost 2%, as Microsoft jumped nearly 2% and Salesforce gained 5%. Chips continued to lag, however, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) off more than 3%, tumbling for a fourth straight day as Micron lost about 8% and AMD fell 7%.

Falling oil prices lent the market some support, as Iran discussed the Strait of Hormuz with Saudi Arabia and Oman.