Finance

Crude oil benchmarks retreated slightly from their recent highs after assurances regarding the timing of potential Middle East strikes. West Texas Intermediate futures hovered around $91 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude settled near $104 per barrel. Simultaneously, gold futures experienced a notable rise of 1.5% to trade at $4,220 an ounce as a hedge against ongoing inflation concerns.

Technology and chipmaker shares bounced back from a steep sell-off sparked by reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue fell short of previous expectations. Despite these overarching growth concerns, broad demand for artificial intelligence hardware helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq log its fourth consecutive weekly gain. Individual stock highlights included AMD surging over 20% on a major multi-generation GPU supply agreement, contrasted by slight pressure on rival Nvidia.

Bitcoin established a steady footing around the $82,500 threshold, bouncing back from earlier low points that triggered heavy liquidation pressure across the digital asset space. Despite the relief rally, major cryptocurrencies remain down on the week, with Bitcoin losing roughly 4% and Ethereum slipping approximately 9%. Market participants are now shifting their attention to upcoming macroeconomic drivers, particularly the Federal Reserve's rate decision later this month.