U.S. stocks looked set to end the week materially higher after fresh indications of a détente in the Middle East pushed risk sentiment. The shift in geopolitical risk fed through to distinct sector moves, with energy names falling and airlines, chipmakers and bitcoin-linked equities advancing.
Energy sector weakness
Oil producers registered notable declines on Friday. As of 13:11 ET, Exxon Mobil was down (-4.6)%, Chevron (-3.3)%, Occidental Petroleum (-6.2)%, Marathon Petroleum (-5%) and Devon Energy (-5.4%). Each of these companies appeared headed for a weekly close in negative territory.
The move followed a post on X by Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that stated: "In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire." That message coincided with lower oil prices and reduced risk premia tied to regional shipping and supply fears.
Airlines gain on fuel-cost relief expectations
Lower energy prices translated into gains for carriers. American Airlines rose 5.4% on Friday, United Airlines jumped 8.3%, Delta Air Lines climbed 4.3%, JetBlue gained 7.4% and Southwest Airlines increased 7%. The sector’s advance extended weekly strength as investors priced in the prospect of reduced fuel costs bolstering airline margins.
Streaming and corporate guidance divergence
Netflix bucked the market’s broader rally, plunging over 10% and moving toward a weekly decline despite reporting quarterly earnings that beat consensus. The company’s guidance for second-quarter profit came in below Wall Street estimates, and the firm also announced the departure of Chairman Reed Hastings, factors that apparently weighed on the stock.
Chipmakers and AI-driven demand
Semiconductor-related stocks posted strong weekly advances amid what the market described as a CPU shortage driven by robust demand for AI computing. AMD shares rose 16.4% over the week, Intel rallied over 11% and Arm gained 7%.
Analyst activity reflected the strength: Bernstein raised its target for AMD to $265 from $235 on Thursday, saying it was "warming" to the company as it benefits from strength in server CPUs.
Oracle rebounds
Oracle staged a sharp recovery after a prolonged decline that began last September, when concerns were raised about datacenter build-out financing. The stock climbed more than 28% on the week and traded at its highest level since late January.
Following an expanded strategic partnership with Bloom Energy, Citizens analyst Patrick Walravens reiterated a Market Outperform rating and a $285 price target on Oracle, citing valuation among the reasons for his favorable view.
Bitcoin-linked names and crypto strength
Bitcoin’s rally also supported stocks with exposure to the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin was trading around the $77,594 mark, up 3.2% on the day. Strategy (formerly Microstrategy) rose more than 11% on Friday and was up 27.6% on the week.
Promotional and research note
Readers were presented with an investment prompt concerning Chevron: "Should you invest $2,000 in CVX right now?" The article included a description of ProPicks AI, which it said evaluates CVX alongside thousands of companies each month using more than 100 financial metrics, and that the tool has no bias and highlights stocks with attractive risk-reward. The piece referenced notable past winners identified by the AI, listing Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%).
Bottom line
Market moves this week were driven by signs of reduced geopolitical risk in the Middle East, which weighed on energy names and supported airlines, while company-specific results and guidance produced mixed outcomes in technology and media. Semiconductor firms benefiting from AI-related CPU demand and bitcoin-linked equities also contributed to the market’s directional bias.