Nasdaq falls 2% intraday Friday; Brent tops $109 a barrel for first time in a month
Other major U.S. stock indexes are also lower
The Nasdaq swung back to losses at the end of the week after posting its biggest jump since the summer on Thursday / Photo: Right Perspective Images / Shutterstock.com
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell more than 2% during trading on Friday, while the broad-market S&P 500 lost around 1% and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%.
Meanwhile, Brent crude prices surged: December futures climbed from below $106 per barrel to above $109 in around two hours, according to Intercontinental Exchange data. It was the first time Brent topped $109 since September. U.S. benchmark WTI crude was up 3.3% at more than $101 per barrel.
Oil market latest
Oil prices rose more than 3% ahead of the weekend amid persistent uncertainty over Middle Eastern supplies amid the U.S.-Iran war, as investors assessed how much diesel Russia could supply to global markets, Reuters reports. Brent has gained more than 4% since the start of the week, while WTI is up almost 9%.
“Conflict in the Middle East still keeps coming back, and I think it's questionable how much diesel fuel Russia can actually deliver to the markets. Those two factors are just continuing to have traders be buyers,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, as quoted by Reuters.
Supply concerns also increased as Iranian attacks on vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have gone up, as Reuters reports. “Intensified Iranian attacks drove Gulf crude flows sharply lower,” Kpler analysts said. They expect a slower and more uneven recovery in flows through the Strait of Hormuz without a comprehensive political deal.
Equity market latest
Chipmakers remain in the spotlight in the stock market. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell 2.8% during trading on Friday. That puts the fund on track for its worst week since July: it has lost 8% over five trading days, CNBC noted. Micron stock fell more than 4% on Friday, while Advanced Micro Devices and Sandisk each retreated 5%. Among the reasons are investor concerns about growing competition from Chinese companies and debate over when the market could become oversupplied, CNBC reports.
Investors are also worried about neocloud firms, which supply computing capacity for AI. CoreWeave stock plunged around 13% on Friday, while Nebius slid 12%.
The Nasdaq is set up for its worst week since June, having lost more than 4% over the period, CNBC notes. The S&P 500 has fallen 2% over five days. The Dow, meanwhile, is up, albeit by less than 1%.
