Stocks post third straight week of losses as Brent crude surges above $100
Stocks wiped out early gains to close lower amid the ongoing war in Iran.
Stocks erased morning gains as the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 closed lower, as did all of the Magnificent 7 companies. Brent crude oil futures surged above $100 again as war rhetoric escalated.
Utilities was the best-performing sector, while info tech was the worst.
Bitcoin hit its highest level in a week, breaking above $73,000 on Friday morning and continuing to show resilience amid geopolitical tensions that are reigniting inflation and growth fears. Ethereum climbed to its highest level in over a month, briefly touching $2,200 on Friday, before giving up some gains.
Stocks that moved higher:
The early bounce in bitcoin lifted crypto stocks Coinbase, Strategy, and MARA Holdings.
Klarna jumped after a filing revealed that Chairman Michael Moritz bought ~$50 million in stock.
Memory stocks Micron, Seagate Technology Holdings, Western Digital, and Sandisk ricocheted off of last week’s losses.
Nio climbed following an upgrade from HSBC to “buy” on improved profitability.
Stocks that moved lower:
Ulta Beauty sank as its fiscal 2027 guidance underwhelmed.
Adobe fell after its CEO departed following 18 years at the helm, overshadowing the company’s solid Q1 results.
Meta dropped after reportedly delaying the launch of its new AI model, Avocado. The company has “discussed temporarily licensing” Google’s Gemini to power its AI products, according to The New York Times. Separately, the war in Iran has halted Meta’s undersea fiber-optic cables project.
Apple dipped after lowering its App Store commission to 25% in China, following regulatory pressure.
