Finance

The blistering selloff in the global bond market experienced a brief pause, offering relief to equity markets. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield cooled slightly to finish near 5.18% after hitting its highest closing level in 19 years earlier in the week. The slight decline in yields was highly correlated with falling crude oil prices and evolving geopolitical discussions in New York.

Artificial intelligence enthusiasm continues to underpin equity markets, though Wall Street analysts note a clear shift in investor conviction. Capital is increasingly rotating from pure-play AI software developers toward infrastructure providers specializing in power, compute, and hardware supply chains. This structural demand has helped the Nasdaq Composite outpace other major benchmarks with a notable weekly gain.

U.S. benchmark crude oil and international Brent futures logged notable declines, with Brent dipping below $98 per barrel. The pullback was sparked by optimism surrounding potential diplomatic progress between Washington and Tehran, which could alleviate traffic constraints in the Gulf of Oman. Investors remain highly sensitive to energy prices as a primary indicator for broader inflationary pressures.