Finance

Energy and fixed-income markets caught a breather following reports of advancing negotiations between Washington and Tehran to potentially restore traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped over two percent to settle near $92 per barrel, pulling Brent crude under key thresholds as well. Consequently, the 10-year Treasury yield softened slightly from its intra-week peaks, slipping back to approximately 5.17%.

The tech heavy Nasdaq composite outperformed other broad market benchmarks, gaining momentum from high profile commercial alliances and product interest. Akamai Technologies saw its stock climb over three percent following the announcement of an $11.6 billion, multiyear agreement with artificial intelligence developer Anthropic. Meanwhile, weekly performance was also bolstered by substantial investor enthusiasm surrounding Meta Platforms and its new AI agent capabilities.

Digital assets experienced notable volatility as Bitcoin fluctuated around the $84,000 threshold, facing pressure from a stronger dollar and structural macroeconomic policy concerns. The ecosystem also faced security headwinds after cryptocurrency exchange Bitget suffered a major security breach resulting in the theft of roughly $350 million. Despite these disruptions, spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds continued to pull in positive net inflows, led by BlackRock's IBIT.