Finance

Crude oil futures softened slightly from their recent peaks after the U.S. administration indicated a pause on immediate regional military action and announced a diesel supply arrangement with Russia. Despite the minor pullback, Brent crude stayed well over $100 per barrel due to ongoing security risks near the Strait of Hormuz.

Tech shares staged a recovery at the end of the week, overcoming a steep previous-session selloff triggered by downscaled revenue expectations for OpenAI. While some major semiconductor and AI-adjacent firms experienced downward pressure earlier in the week, broader tech names stabilized as immediate market anxieties subsided.

A preliminary report from the University of Michigan revealed that domestic consumers are elevating their one-year inflation projections to 4.7%. This rise in cost-of-living expectations has notably weighed on consumer confidence, particularly among lower-income demographics.