Finance

Brent crude prices declined nearly 4% to settle below $97 a barrel, offering some relief to inflation-wary investors after breaking past the $100 threshold earlier in the week. The market pullback followed reports that Pakistan is exploring a diplomatic path, initiated by China, to revive peace negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Semiconductor and digital storage stocks recorded severe losses as Wall Street continued to recalibrate its expectations for artificial intelligence infrastructure returns. Sandisk slumped roughly 11% and Micron Technology dropped 7%, driving a wider 4.5% daily decline in the iShares Semiconductor ETF.

A new trade policy went into effect imposing duties between 10% and 12.5% on more than 60 trading partners, replacing a previous temporary global tariff. The sweeping import measures have kept market volatility high due to persistent concerns regarding long-term domestic inflation and retaliatory economic impacts.