Finance

Chipmaker stocks experienced a sharp sell-off as investors grew anxious over the high capital expenditures required for artificial intelligence development. The broader iShares Semiconductor ETF lost roughly 4.5% during Friday's session, while the Roundhill Memory ETF tumbled 8.5% on the back of steep declines from key industry players like Sandisk and Micron Technology. Even a blowout quarterly earnings report from Intel failed to rescue its stock, which plumetted nearly 8% by the closing bell.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 4% to settle at $96.78 a barrel on Friday, backing down from a spike above the $100 mark earlier in the week. The price reversal followed international reports indicating that Pakistan, with backing from China, is exploring a diplomatic path to revive peace talks between the United States and Iran. The sudden pullback in energy prices provided relief to the broader market and helped check rising government bond yields.

Bitcoin and Ethereum faced downward pressure, retreating to around $64,300 and $1,860 respectively during Friday trading. The digital asset market was heavily impacted by macroeconomic factors, including higher U.S. Treasury yields and a spike in inflation expectations fueled by new tariff policies. Institutional demand cooled concurrently, with spot Bitcoin ETFs breaking a weeklong positive streak to record $225 million in net outflows.