Brent Crude Tops $110 as Tech Shares Lose $1 Trillion in a Session

Brent crude touched $110 a barrel during Friday's session, the first time the global benchmark had reached that level since May, before closing at $109.86. West Texas Intermediate rose 3.5 percent to settle at $101.41. In the same session technology shares lost roughly $1 trillion in market value. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.5 percent and the Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 3.8 percent, its eighth consecutive losing day, the longest such streak since 2008.

Energy stocks moved in the opposite direction. ExxonMobil rose 2.46 percent to close at $178.98, near its 52-week high. Chevron gained 2.59 percent to $224.99. The broader S&P 500 declined about 1.1 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell less than half a percent. Six of the eleven S&P sectors finished higher, led by energy and utilities.

The oil move was linked to renewed supply concerns in the Middle East, including activity around the Strait of Hormuz. Higher energy prices added to existing worries about inflation and the path of interest rates. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh declined to signal the outcome of the 28 October meeting, saying he does not prejudge decisions. Market pricing for a rate increase later this month eased slightly after his remarks.

Pressure on AI-linked names intensified. Nvidia-backed CoreWeave fell 12 percent, bringing its five-session loss to about 25 percent; its bonds traded at yields above 15 percent. Broadcom dropped 3.6 percent. Investors have questioned whether the debt taken on by data-centre operators and chip suppliers will be repaid from the revenues those facilities generate. The Nasdaq is now roughly 7 percent below the record it set the previous week.

The combination of rising oil and falling technology valuations produced a clear rotation within equity markets on Friday. Energy producers gained while the companies whose valuations rest on long-dated AI growth projections lost ground. Whether the oil spike persists or the technology sell-off extends into next week will depend on both the Middle East supply picture and the next set of earnings and debt-market signals from the AI infrastructure sector.