Finance

Energy and broad equity markets found relief after President Trump announced that the United States would not execute any military strikes against Iran prior to the upcoming midterm elections. While regional tensions near the Strait of Hormuz kept Brent crude prices trading at elevated levels above $104 per barrel, the explicit policy assurance helped temper acute inflation fears. The statement gave market participants the necessary breathing room to reverse the defensive, oil-driven positioning seen earlier in the week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq recovered from its worst session since August as initial concerns regarding the pace of AI growth began to fade. Worries erupted earlier after reports indicated that OpenAI's annualized revenue fell short of previous expectations by approximately $20 billion, triggering an immediate drag on semiconductors and hardware infrastructure providers. Despite some lingering caution that led an Nvidia-backed cloud firm to drop its initial public offering plans, broader technology sectors managed to break the downward momentum.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield remained elevated near 5.24% following a highly volatile week of trading for government debt. Meanwhile, the WSJ Dollar Index marked its fourth consecutive week of gains, reflecting robust momentum as market participants recalibrate their economic expectations. The sustained upward trajectory for both yields and the greenback underscores growing investor consensus that the Federal Reserve will implement additional interest rate hikes before the end of the year.