Finance

Chipmaker equities suffered a steep downturn as investors voiced mounting apprehension over ballooning infrastructure outlays for artificial intelligence. Despite robust quarterly financial results from industry giants like Intel, the sector failed to gain positive traction, with the PHLX Semiconductor Index dropping over 2%. Significant declines were also visible in individual memory and storage players, such as Sandisk, which plunged roughly 11%.

Energy prices retreated late in the week, providing minor relief to broader macroeconomic inflation concerns. Brent crude futures dropped nearly 4% to settle around $96.78 a barrel, retreating from its brief spike past the $100 threshold, while West Texas Intermediate fell back down to roughly $89.31. The sudden reversal was largely prompted by reports that diplomatic channels were being explored to initiate fresh negotiations between the United States and Iran.

Digital assets struggled to find positive momentum as shifting macroeconomic expectations and elevated bond yields dampened institutional risk appetite. Bitcoin retreated toward the $64,000 level, breaking a multi-day streak of positive capital momentum as spot exchange-traded funds recorded over $225 million in net outflows during a single session. Other prominent tokens, including Ethereum, mirrored the downswing by shedding over 1% of their value.