Finance

Tech shares managed a meaningful recovery from Thursday's selloff, which had been triggered by conflicting financial estimates regarding OpenAI's annualized performance. Reassuring reports that the artificial intelligence firm is still on pace for $70 billion in annualized revenue helped reverse early jitters. Even with a canceled international initial public offering from an Nvidia-backed cloud company, the broader tech sector finished in positive territory.

A major multi-billion dollar spectrum acquisition by SpaceX targeted at upgrading its Starlink mobile infrastructure heavily pressured traditional telecom stocks. Industry giants T-Mobile US, AT&T, and Verizon experienced steep losses on heightened competition fears. The selloff stood out as one of the sharpest sector-specific disruptions during an otherwise positive day for equities.

Crude oil futures turned lower following a diplomatic arrangement to introduce more Russian diesel into global and domestic channels. Despite ongoing shipping hazards around the Strait of Hormuz keeping international benchmarks elevated, both West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude fell slightly on the day. The dip in oil prices offered immediate breathing room for major equity indices and inflation-weary investors.