US stock market today: Fresh selling in computer chipmakers and other companies that have benefited from the artificial intelligence boom dragged global equity markets lower on Friday, while oil prices continued to rise amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.The S&P 500 declined 1.3%, putting it on course for its first weekly loss in three weeks and only its third losing week in the past 16. As of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 451 points, or 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.1%.
AI-related stocks drive fall
Semiconductor stocks remained at the heart of the market weakness. Investors have been reducing exposure to the sector for weeks amid concerns that valuations have become stretched and that the current surge in demand for processors and memory chips may prove unsustainable if artificial intelligence does not generate the expected gains in productivity and profitability.Nvidia was among the biggest drags on the S&P 500, with its shares falling 3.4%.Applied Materials dropped 6.9%, reducing its year-to-date gain to 103%, while Micron Technology declined 4.8%, trimming its advance for the year to 184%, according to an AP report/The sell-off extended across global markets. Taiwan’s benchmark index plunged 6.5%, Japan’s market fell 4% and Shanghai lost 3%, with shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. tumbling 7.3%.South Korea’s stock market remained closed for a public holiday, sparing it from Friday’s losses. The country’s equity market has recently been one of the most volatile because of the heavy influence of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Over the past week alone, Seoul’s Kospi index posted a gain of 6.2% in one session but also recorded declines of 6.4% and 8.9% on two other trading days.Wall Street also came under pressure from earnings-related declines in several stocks. This contrasted with much of the earlier part of the week, when companies such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock rallied after reporting stronger-than-expected spring-quarter profits.Netflix shares slumped 10.9% after the company’s latest quarterly revenue narrowly missed analysts’ estimates, despite reporting profit above expectations. Its projections for summer-quarter revenue and earnings also fell short of market forecasts.Intuitive Surgical, which manufactures robotic surgical systems, dropped 10.8% even after delivering better-than-expected quarterly results. Analysts attributed the decline to concerns that procedure growth could slow following the expiry of enhanced tax credits that had reduced health insurance costs for many Affordable Care Act beneficiaries.Shares of Elon Musk’s SpaceX fell 6.2%, touching their lowest level since the stock began trading on the Nasdaq a little over a month ago. The company, which owns the xAI business, has also been caught up in the volatility surrounding AI-related stocks. On Thursday, SpaceX aborted a test launch of its Starship rocket almost immediately before liftoff after several engines failed to ignite, forcing the launch to be called off amid large clouds of smoke and vapour.Rising oil prices added to the pressure on equity markets.Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 2.9% to $86.70 a barrel, compared with roughly $76 a week earlier.Early on Friday, the United States broadened its air campaign against Iran by targeting additional bridges and bringing down a tower at a major Iranian port. The strikes formed part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase pressure on Tehran to ease its control over the Strait of Hormuz.Oil prices have climbed to around their highest level in a month amid concerns that the conflict with Iran could continue to disrupt tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, affecting the movement of crude oil from the Persian Gulf to markets around the world.
