Finance

Chipmaker stocks experienced significant downward momentum, with major industry players like Intel and SanDisk recording sharp declines. Despite some companies beating quarterly financial expectations, market participants expressed deep skepticism regarding the immense capital expenditures poured into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Investors are increasingly demanding clear timelines for when these massive investments will translate into substantial revenue generation.

Brent crude futures pulled back significantly, settling below the $97 mark after briefly crossing above $100 earlier in the week. The price drop was catalyzed by reports indicating that Pakistan and Iran are exploring potential channels to resume diplomatic peace negotiations. This drop in energy prices subsequently helped lower government bond yields, which had spiked over fears that resurgent energy costs would fuel inflation.

The financial landscape is adjusting to a newly implemented tariff regime as the previous temporary 10% global levies expired. The updated trade framework introduces duties ranging between 10% and 12.5% targeting major international trading partners. Designed to withstand legal challenges, this shift continues to inject policy uncertainty into multinational corporate outlooks.