Wall Street Declines as Oil Prices Surge

As the war entered into by the US with Iran disrupted global oil supplies, Brent crude oil prices climbing to their highest level in over four years pulled down indices on Wall Street. The S&P 500 index lost 0.5 percent, the Dow Jones index 1.2 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index 0.2 percent.

According to data released on Friday in Wall Street markets, the S&P 500 index decreased by 39.75 points to 7,623.68, while the Dow Jones index dropped 652.82 points to 52,215.16, and the Nasdaq index fell 53.52 points to 25,955.34. While approximately three-quarters of the stocks in the S&P 500 index lost value, the barrel price of Brent crude rose 3.1 percent to $116.72, reaching its highest level since June 2022.

Despite the general decline in the markets, some artificial intelligence-focused company stocks experienced increases. Micron Technology gained 2.5 percent, Intel 1.7 percent, Microsoft 0.7 percent, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 1.7 percent. On the other hand, industrial and financial companies experienced sharp declines; Caterpillar declined by 2.4 percent, American Express by 3.7 percent, JPMorgan Chase by 1.5 percent, Citigroup by 1.5 percent, and Capital One Financial by 1 percent. High oil prices, however, supported energy companies; Chevron shares rose by 2.9 percent and ConocoPhillips shares by 3.6 percent.

European markets generally finished the day lower, while the US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.99 percent. Inflation in the US remaining above 3 percent shapes expectations regarding the Federal Reserve's (Fed) policies and upcoming economic data.