Finance

Oil prices jumped sharply after the U.S. Treasury Department revoked a waiver permitting Iranian oil exports following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Domestic and international crude benchmarks surged over 3%, with Brent crude trading around $76 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate surpassing $72 a barrel.

Semiconductor stocks faced significant downward pressure due to growing investor anxiety regarding high market valuations and the long-term payoff of massive artificial intelligence spending. Although Samsung Electronics reported a massive 19-fold surge in quarterly operating profits, the results failed to satisfy high investor expectations, triggering a global sell-off that dragged down U.S. chipmakers like Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. officially joined the Nasdaq 100 index, becoming the first mega-IPO to do so under newly introduced fast-track eligibility rules. Despite positive long-term outlooks from institutional brokerages initiating coverage, the stock slipped roughly 7% during its index debut as early investors offloaded shares.