Dow and S&P Rise on Easing Middle East Tensions, Oil Prices Drop
The US stock market saw a moderate rally on Friday, driven by easing tensions in the Middle East and positive earnings reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 11:46 am ET, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.6%. Oil prices retreated from recent highs after Reuters reported that Pakistan is exploring ways to broker peace negotiations between the US and Iran with Chinese backing.
The Iranian conflict has been weighing on oil markets due to its impact on Chinese interests as a leading importer of Persian Gulf oil. However, the possibility of diplomatic progress took some pressure off oil prices, which dropped 4% to $95 per barrel. Brent crude is trading near this level after Thursday's close.
The tech sector added pressure to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes due to concerns about AI demand and semiconductor production. SK Hynix, a Korean memory chip giant, fell 6.6% on reports of reallocation from AI-oriented HBM manufacturing capacity to commodity DRAM production.