US equity indexes ended higher on Tuesday as semiconductor stocks led gains in the technology sector amid diplomatic developments to rein in hostilities in the Middle East.

* Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Pakistan for high-level talks, news reports said. Mediators are proposing a 10-day ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, according to a Reuters report. President Donald Trump said Tehran is "desperate" to meet and talk, and threatened to attack a reported new Iranian nuclear site "very heavily," Al Jazeera reported.

* Redbook US same-store sales last week rose 7.8% from a year earlier after an 8.2% increase in the previous week.

* The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's monthly nonmanufacturing activity index rose to 7.4 in July from minus 25.8 in June.

* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $1.76 to settle at $84.99 per barrel, while September Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $2.25 at $91.47.

* 3M (MMM) shares rose 7.3%, the top gainer on the Dow, as the company raised its full-year earnings outlook after reporting Q2 results above Wall Street's estimates.

* Danaher (DHR) shares fell 11%, the biggest drop on the S&P 500, after the company tempered full-year revenue-growth guidance even as fiscal Q2 topped estimates.