Finance

Crude prices experienced a modest intraday decline but remained highly elevated as tensions persisted in the Middle East following reports of vessel strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate futures closed above $91 a barrel, while Brent crude held steady above the $104 mark.

Tech companies recovered from a sharp mid-week sell-off that was initially triggered by reports showing a lower-than-anticipated revenue picture for OpenAI. While firms like Nvidia experienced minor volatility and an AI-backed cloud company canceled its planned initial public offering in Australia, the broader sector managed to end the week on a positive note.

A preliminary report from the University of Michigan revealed that consumer sentiment is falling sharply, particularly among lower-income individuals. U.S. consumers raised their one-year inflation projections to 4.7%, reflecting mounting financial anxiety closely tied to ongoing geopolitical conflicts.