Finance

Energy prices and government bond yields experienced sharp movements after President Donald Trump stated there are no plans for an immediate strike on Iran before the upcoming midterm elections. While crude benchmarks stabilized slightly from their weekly peaks, West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures remain elevated, with Brent continuing to hover above the $100 per barrel mark.

The technology sector engineered a steady recovery on Friday after a sharp sell-off in the previous session triggered by concerns over an artificial intelligence bubble. Financial markets previously grew anxious after reports surfaced indicating that OpenAI's annualized revenue fell short of prior projections by approximately $20 billion, causing temporary jitters across major semiconductor and tech firms.

A preliminary report from the University of Michigan revealed that household economic confidence is dropping, particularly among lower-income demographics. U.S. consumers raised their short-term inflation forecasts to 4.7% for the coming year, driven by high borrowing costs and sustained living expenses linked to recent geopolitical instability.