Wall Street Ends Slightly Lower; Oil Slides as Shipping Resumes Through Strait of Hormuz

Wall Street’s main stock indices overcame early tech-led losses on Friday as investors bought the dip, but still finished mildly lower, according to RTHK. Oil prices fell as shipping traffic resumed through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude dropped 4.3%, returning to levels seen before the war on Iran began, while West Texas Intermediate fell 3.7%. Tracking platforms showed ships continued to leave the Gulf, with some taking a route not authorized by Tehran, despite an attack on a freighter that forced the suspension of a UN evacuation. The UN maritime agency said the operation had freed 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers trapped by the dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz before the attack hit a ship in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. stocks opened weaker as tech shares came under pressure after Apple announced price hikes on laptops, tablets and other products, citing rising memory and storage costs linked to artificial intelligence. Microsoft also announced price increases for Xbox gaming consoles, citing AI-driven component cost increases. The Nasdaq closed down 0.24%. Kathleen Brooks of XTB said news that OpenAI would delay its IPO until next year, over concerns it would not attract enough interest to support a US$1 trillion listing, also weighed on sentiment. Analysts cited concerns about stretched valuations in the tech sector, including the “Magnificent Seven” such as NVIDIA, Apple and Alphabet, and noted that heavy infrastructure spending has pushed firms to seek cash through debt sales and equity offerings.