Business & Markets
Tech shares slide as oil jumps on US-Iran fighting
Wall Street stocks fell on Friday, joining most global markets in retreating as weakness in artificial intelligence-linked shares continued and oil prices rebounded.
Technology shares have been under pressure in recent days as investors question high valuations after the Nasdaq's strong second quarter. Semiconductor companies were among the hardest hit. Nvidia briefly lost its position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company to Apple.
Chinese startup Moonshot AI released a model on Friday that experts said could rival some advanced products from US labs. Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones said technology weakness was driving risk-off sentiment, with investors questioning both the pace and the payoff of investment in the sector.
All three major US indices closed lower. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4 percent to 25,520.24, the S&P 500 dropped 1.0 percent to 7,457.69 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8 percent to 52,146.42.
Oil prices rose more than four percent after renewed fighting between the United States and Iran intensified a clash over control of the Strait of Hormuz, an important route for petroleum transport. Brent North Sea crude rose 4.6 percent to $88.10 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 4.5 percent to $82.49.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya of Swissquote Bank said the technology selloff was not the only reason for weaker market sentiment and said Middle East developments were worsening. David Morrison of Trade Nation said the conflict and threats to shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and potentially the Red Sea had increased uncertainty across global financial markets.
Asian and European stock markets had earlier followed Wall Street's Thursday losses, when falls in Nvidia and Amazon helped drag the Nasdaq down by more than one percent. Netflix shares fell more than seven percent on Friday after the streaming company warned of slowing sales growth.
With South Korea on holiday, Tokyo and Taipei led the latest selling in Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 4.0 percent at 64,141.12. Shares in Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank each fell more than seven percent, while Kioxia dropped 16 percent and has lost about half its value since briefly becoming Japan's biggest company by market capitalization last month.
Taiwan's Taiex index closed down 6.5 percent. TSMC fell more than seven percent, a day after announcing record second-quarter profits and saying it would invest a further $100 billion in Arizona.
European markets closed mostly lower. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.3 percent to 10,600.37, helped by energy shares. Paris's CAC 40 fell 0.5 percent to 8,338.81 and Frankfurt's DAX slipped 0.3 percent to 24,830.98. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.8 percent to 24,562.24 and Shanghai's Composite Index dropped 3.1 percent to 3,764.15.
In currency trading, the euro was slightly lower at $1.1439, the pound fell to $1.3457, the dollar edged up to 162.44 yen and the euro rose to 85.00 pence.
Update
All three major US indices closed lower, with the Nasdaq down 1.4 percent, the S&P 500 down 1.0 percent and the Dow down 0.8 percent.
Brent crude closed up 4.6 percent at $88.10 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rose 4.5 percent to $82.49.
Moonshot AI released a model that experts said could rival more advanced offerings from US labs.
Netflix shares fell more than seven percent after warning of slowing sales growth.
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 6.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei closed down 4.0 percent.
TSMC fell more than seven percent a day after announcing record second-quarter profits and a further $100 billion investment in Arizona.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 20:43:04 UTC.
Update
Tokyo and Taipei led a renewed technology-share selloff, with Japan's Nikkei closing down 4.0 percent and Taiwan's Taiex down 6.5 percent.
Nvidia's valuation fell to about $4.8 trillion, below Apple's $4.9 trillion, and its shares were down more than 13 percent from a high two months earlier.
Brent crude rose above $86 a barrel as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks.
Netflix shares fell more than eight percent after warning of slower sales growth.
TSMC fell more than seven percent after reporting record second-quarter profit and saying it would invest a further $100 billion in Arizona.
European markets closed mostly lower, while London rose with support from energy shares.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 15:59:13 UTC.
Update
Wall Street stocks fell early Friday, led by the Nasdaq.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Nasdaq was down 2.2 percent at 25,308.99, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 52,483.71, and the S&P 500 was down 1.1 percent at 7,454.32.
CFRA Research's Sam Stovall said expectations for tech earnings were too high and that investment funds were shifting to other sectors.
Chinese startup Moonshot AI released a model that experts said could rival advanced US lab offerings.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said lower-cost AI models could affect the AI investment boom that has supported the stock market this year.
Netflix fell 10.6 percent after reporting $12.6 billion in revenue, slightly below analyst forecasts, with its lowest growth rate in nearly three years.
SpaceX fell 4.7 percent to $124.85 after calling off a rocket launch, with Elon Musk citing engine problems that caused an automatic abort.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 14:04:21 UTC.
Update
Brent North Sea crude was up 2.8 percent at $86.58 a barrel around 1045 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate was up 3.2 percent at $80.79.
The Nasdaq was down 1.8 percent at the US opening, with semiconductor and technology stocks leading losses.
Netflix fell more than nine percent in after-hours trading after warning of slowing sales growth and was down more than 10 percent at the opening bell.
Japan's Nikkei closed down 4.0 percent, Taiwan's Taiex closed down 6.5 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 2.1 percent and Shanghai's Composite closed down 3.0 percent.
Kioxia fell 16 percent, leaving it around half its value since briefly becoming Japan's biggest company by market capitalisation last month.
Shares in Shell and BP rose as oil prices climbed, while Burberry fell more than seven percent after its trading update.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 13:46:00 UTC.
Update
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude rose above $85 a barrel as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks.
Asian and European markets followed Wall Street losses after Nvidia and Amazon helped pull the Nasdaq down by more than one percent on Thursday.
Netflix fell more than nine percent in after-hours trading after warning of a second quarter of slowing sales growth.
Japan's Nikkei closed down 4.0 percent, Taiwan's Taiex closed down 6.5 percent, and TSMC fell more than seven percent after reporting record second-quarter profit and announcing a further $100 billion investment in Arizona.
London, Paris and Frankfurt were lower around 1045 GMT, while Shell and BP rose with oil prices and Burberry fell more than five percent after its trading update.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 11:13:23 UTC.
Update
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 6.5 percent, with TSMC down 7.3 percent after reporting record second-quarter profit and saying it would invest a further $100 billion in Arizona.
London edged up slightly at the open and Paris dipped.
Oil prices rose as the United States and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz said to have fallen back to a trickle.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 08:43:56 UTC.
Update
Japan's Nikkei closed down 4.0 percent at 64,141.12.
Taiwan's Taiex closed down 6.5 percent, while TSMC fell 7.3 percent after reporting record second-quarter profit and plans for a further $100 billion investment in Arizona.
Kioxia fell 16 percent and has lost about half its value since briefly becoming Japan's largest company by market capitalisation last month.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney also fell, while Bangkok, Manila and Mumbai rose.
London edged higher at the open and Paris dipped.
Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com said investors were questioning whether AI infrastructure spending can produce returns within a reasonable timeframe, while the selloff could also reflect portfolio rotation.
Oil prices rose as the United States and Iran continued to exchange strikes and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell back to a trickle.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 07:38:42 UTC.
Update
Japan's Nikkei fell 6.0 percent, with Advantest, Tokyo Electron and SoftBank losing more than 10 percent.
Kioxia fell 16 percent and had lost more than half its value since a recent record high.
Taiwan's Taiex fell more than five percent, while TSMC retreated around the same amount after reporting record second-quarter profit and a further $100 billion Arizona investment plan.
Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Bangkok also fell, while Manila and Mumbai rose.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index had lost about 19 percent from a June peak, according to Bloomberg.
Oil prices rose about one percent as the United States and Iran continued to exchange strikes, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell back to a trickle.
Netflix fell more than nine percent in after-hours trade after warning of a second quarter of slowing sales growth.
The item includes key market figures from around 0500 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 July 2026 at 05:08:50 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The source attributes concern about the payoff from AI investment to analysts and market participants, not to a settled outcome.
Source
AFP news report published on .