S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq End Second Week Lower Over Elevated Oil Prices, Chipmaker Rout — PSKY, UBER, QCOM, VZ, INTC In Focus

• The S&P 500 ended 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5% higher.
• Qualcomm, the biggest maker of smartphone processors, plans to increase prices.
• Paramount Skydance agreed not to close its blockbuster $110-billion Warner deal until June next year.

U.S. stock indices ended mixed on Friday, ending their second consecutive week lower as investors assess big-tech earnings with heightened attention on geopolitical developments. 

The S&P 500 ended 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.5% higher. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, fell 0.1%.

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) added 0.1%, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Friday 1.1% lower, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) rose 0.4%.

Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 3.2%, pulled down by weakness in Micron Tech (MU), Nvidia (NVDA), and Broadcom (AVGO). The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) fell 0.8%, tracking weakness in SpaceX (SPCX).  

SpaceX dropped about 7% this week, its third consecutive weekly decline as investors turned jittery over bloated capex plans. 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for SPY dropped to the ‘extremely bearish’ zone, while sentiment for QQQ was ‘bearish’ and ‘neutral’ for the DIA with ‘high’ message volumes.

US Market Drivers

Oil prices rebounded from their session lows following a Reuters report that Pakistan is considering a path toward establishing new peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, under an initiative pushed by China.

Earlier this week, Brent crude futures surged past the $100-per-barrel mark for the first time since late May, though they subsequently gave up those gains, sliding nearly 4% to settle at $96.78. Concurrently, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures experienced a 3% decline, ultimately closing at $89.31 per barrel.

However, war risks continue to affect investor mindset. Oil prices, although they eased on Friday, still remain at elevated levels ahead of the Fed policy meeting due next week. 

“As we have seen multiple times in the past few years, equity markets tend to overreact to war developments, partly because war events tend to create uncertainty,” Thomas Lee at Fundstrat Global Advisors told Bloomberg. “But these periods of risk-off have been buying opportunities in the past, and we expect this to be the case again.” 

Going ahead, market participants will brace for the upcoming financial results from tech giants like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), and Apple Inc (AAPL). scheduled for next week. Wall Street is seeking more definitive proof that the massive capital investments directed into artificial intelligence are successfully driving fresh growth rather than eroding profit margins.

Trending Stocks To Watch 

Paramount Skydance (PSKY): Paramount agreed to freeze its proposed $110-billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), putting the media consolidation on hold until June 1, 2027, or until a federal court rules on an antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the deal.

Uber Technologies (UBER): Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL) Waymo is exploring options to end its robotaxi partnership with the ride-hailing company.  

Verizon Communications (VZ): The telecom operator signed a fiber infrastructure agreement with Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOG, GOOGL) Google worth more than $1 billion, as the telecom giant looks to capitalize on surging demand for data center connectivity driven by artificial intelligence. 

Qualcomm (QCOM): The world’s leading supplier of smartphone processors, has informed clients that it will increase its component prices by double-digit percentages starting late this summer, citing unavoidable cost pressures across its global supply network. 

Intel (INTC): Intel Corporation and Lens Technology entered a strategic partnership to develop glass substrate-based semiconductor packaging. 

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