Finance

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude futures dropped over 2% following reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators are in discussions over a phased agreement. Optimism surrounding the potential reopening of the critical Strait of Hormuz within a week helped mitigate recent energy price spikes.

Information technology led the S&P 500 sectors as major software and hardware tech names powered the market forward. Akamai Technologies surged after announcing a massive multiyear agreement with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic, while excitement surrounding Meta Platforms' new AI agent drove its stock significantly higher for the week.

The final September reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index ticked slightly higher than preliminary estimates but still marked a clear drop from August levels. High energy costs and retail gasoline sticking above four dollars a gallon continue to pressure consumers' long-term inflation outlooks.