Finance

Energy prices fell sharply as international benchmark Brent crude slipped back under the $100 threshold and West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $92 per barrel. This cooldown was driven by reports indicating that diplomats from Washington and Tehran are discussing a phased arrangement to restore shipping access through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The global fixed-income selloff took a breather late in the week, allowing benchmark government bond yields to stabilize from multi-decade peaks. Earlier in the session, heightened inflation concerns and hawkish Federal Reserve signaling had pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to its highest mark since 2007, while the 30-year yield touched levels unseen since 2004.

Strong individual corporate performances injected fresh resilience into the equity markets. Akamai Technologies saw its shares surge following an $11.6 billion generative AI infrastructure partnership with chatbot developer Anthropic, while robust quarterly profits from Costco Wholesale further reinforced investor confidence.