Oil hit $100 a barrel and Magnificent 7 stocks shed nearly $800 billion in market value on Thursday, as pessimism over steep AI spending and the Iran war dragged down global markets.
Wall Street’s fear gauge hit its highest level in a month with rising crude prices reigniting inflation fears and exposing “just how fragile the market’s recovery has been,” a Reuters columnist wrote.
Tech earnings, meanwhile, failed to satisfy investors hyper-attuned to capital expenditures: “Any chink in the armor and the stocks are being sold off,” an investment strategist said. Still, investors are betting that oil prices will fall in the coming months as Washington comes under pressure to ease tensions with Tehran.
