Finance

Energy markets advanced for a fifth consecutive session as international supply anxieties deepened. Crude oil prices climbed toward multi-week highs following recent statements from President Donald Trump threatening unprecedented economic isolation and warfare against Iran. Brent crude futures moved up by over 2%, lifting the S&P 500 energy sector against a broadly negative tape for other industry groups.

Shares of major retail companies faced severe downward momentum, led by a drop of over 9% in Walmart's stock. Although the big-box giant beat quarterly earnings expectations, it recorded its weakest comparable sales growth in over six years and issued a conservative outlook for the upcoming quarter. The decelerating growth metrics fueled broader concerns about the strength of consumer discretionary spending, pulling down shares of industry peers like Amazon and Home Depot.

Cryptocurrencies bucked the broader market downturn, with Bitcoin surging past the $70,000 threshold to reach its highest valuation since early June. The digital asset rally was catalyzed by executive pressure from the White House urging lawmakers to advance the stalled Clarity Act, a legislative framework defining asset definitions for digital tokens. This policy optimism triggered billions in short liquidations and pushed related crypto equities like Coinbase and MicroStrategy significantly higher.