Finance

Shares of Alphabet and Tesla tumbled sharply, dragging down major benchmarks due to mounting concerns over their artificial intelligence investment strategies. While Alphabet reported strong revenue growth, its decision to heavily increase its infrastructure budget raised fears that massive capital spending may negatively affect short-term profits and free cash flow.

Oil prices surged to a multi-week high on Thursday, with Brent crude futures breaching the $100 per barrel mark following news of Houthi militant attacks on commercial tankers in the Red Sea. Ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran have stoked widespread fears of protracted energy supply disruptions, adding inflationary pressure to the macroeconomic landscape.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note advanced toward 4.70%, reaching a level not seen in over a year. Yields were pushed higher by a combination of surging oil costs and a sharper-than-expected drop in initial unemployment claims to 187,000, signaling a tight labor market that may prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates elevated.