Welcome to Markets Desk, your end-of-week read on what moved markets and why.
Chip stocks took a beating this week, and the pain was sharpest for those who swung hardest. Traders poured a record sum into a leveraged semiconductor ETF last week, essentially doubling down on AI optimism, only to watch renewed doubts about the return on AI infrastructure spending cut those positions down sharply.
That AI anxiety didn't stay contained to semiconductors. Equities broadly struggled to find direction all week, caught between stubborn inflation data on one side and fading confidence in the AI buildout on the other. The result was a volatile, indecisive tape that ultimately closed lower, with neither bulls nor bears able to hold the wheel.
Meanwhile, crude oil had a very different week. West Texas Intermediate surged roughly six percent over Thursday and Friday alone, closing at a five-month high, as speculation mounted that the United States could resume active military pressure on Iran. December contracts closed up nearly four percent on the session, and gasoline futures followed, adding to an already uncomfortable inflation picture for consumers and policymakers alike.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
