Finance

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East flared significantly, causing Brent crude prices to leap by over 7% to cross the $88 per barrel mark. This commodity shock came on the heels of renewed hostilities and reports of a surprise Iranian missile strike on U.S. forces. While the broader market pulled back, major energy sector equities like Exxon Mobil and Chevron saw noticeable gains amid the jump in energy costs.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid further from its record highs, pushing key underlying gauges like the Nasdaq 100 firmly into a technical correction. Concerns over heavy expenditure on artificial intelligence data centers, alongside disappointing earnings from international players like SK Hynix, accelerated the unwinding of recent chip sector gains. Major semiconductor giants, including Micron Technology and SanDisk, faced substantial downward pressure as a broader market rotation failed to offset localized technology losses.

Bucking the negative macroeconomic trend, Ford Motor reported higher quarterly profits that topped analyst expectations and allowed the company to raise its full-year guidance. Strong production volume and improvements in manufacturing quality supported the automotive manufacturer's performance. Shares of the carmaker closed more than 2% higher in active trading despite widespread declines across the industrials sector.