Finance

Investors are growing increasingly cautious about the tech sector due to ballooning capital expenditures required to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure. Recent financial updates from tech heavyweights like Alphabet and Tesla revealed substantial spending paired with disappointing free cash flow, intensifying market fears that massive data center construction may outpace immediate revenue returns.

Crude oil benchmarks stabilized slightly at the end of the week, with Brent crude futures falling 3.9% to settle below $97 a barrel after temporarily surging past the $100 threshold earlier. The reversal followed reports that international intermediaries are exploring paths toward new diplomatic talks to ease intense geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran.

A new trade regime took effect as the Trump administration implemented levies ranging from 10% to 12.5% targeting major trading partners on nearly all imports. The broad implementation replaced an expiring temporary measure, fueling renewed macro anxieties that higher duties will exacerbate persistent inflation and put pressure on domestic markets.