Finance

Oil prices experienced wild swings before settling higher, keeping global benchmarks elevated. Brent crude maintained its position well above the $100 mark to close at $104.72 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures hovered past $91 per barrel. Energy trading remained highly reactive to continuous vessel strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, though prices briefly eased after reassurance that upcoming localized military actions would be delayed.

A preliminary reading from the University of Michigan revealed that domestic consumer confidence is deteriorating as families feel the squeeze of persistent inflation and high borrowing costs. Respondents raised their short-term inflation forecasts to 4.7%, a notable jump from earlier in the year. The decline in sentiment is hitting lower-income households the hardest, presenting a mixed economic backdrop just ahead of the release of critical consumer price data.

Technology and semiconductor shares found late-week stability after fresh financial details countered prior anxieties regarding an artificial intelligence market bubble. Reports indicating that OpenAI's annualized revenue could scale to $70 billion or more by the end of the year helped reverse a massive tech sell-off. The updated projections alleviated intense valuation concerns that had previously triggered a sharp 3.4% plunge in chip manufacturing stocks.