Global stocks slip as Apple price hikes fan tech jitters and oil slides

LONDON/SYDNEY: Global stocks slipped on Friday after ‌Apple price hikes fuelled wider concerns over the inflationary impact of spending by tech giants, while oil prices ​dropped towards their ⁠lowest in four months despite difficulties reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Apple said Thursday it ‌could no longer shield customers from soaring ‌memory and storage chip costs, and while its shares were steadier in premarket trading on Friday, that came after Thursday's 6% fall. A media report that OpenAI was considering delaying its IPO until next year also dampened the stock market mood. Oil ‌futures fell more than 3% and were heading for steep weekly losses as more stranded tankers exited the Strait ⁠of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday.

Saudi Aramco resumed loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a near four-month halt, in a further likely boost to supply. European stocks were down nearly 1%, with a near 2% fall in tech while Wall Street futures pointed to falls of 0.5% to 1.1%.

Steep declines in Asia were led by tech stocks, with MSCI's index of Asian stocks outside Japan ​down 3%. South Korea's KOSPI was down as much as 9% at one point, triggering a circuit ‌breaker.

"There's a bit of concern in the market about the spenders, the hyperscalers... and what's going to happen to the return on invested capital from all this expenditure," said Nutshell Asset Management CIO Mark Ellis, adding that while the short-term impact ⁠was inflationary, he believed prices should come down in the long run due to improved efficiencies. Apple's price increases tempered investor enthusiasm about a blowout earnings report from chipmaker Micron this week.

Analysts also said month-end and quarter-end rebalancing flows might have contributed ​to choppy prices ‌in big tech stocks, which have outperformed for much of the second quarter.

The yen teetered near its ‌weakest level against the dollar in 40 years at 161.62, beyond the 160 level that many see as a line in the sand for Japanese authorities. It found little relief even as a US inflation reading met forecasts and traders trimmed bets for ‌a Federal Reserve ‌rate hike in September. Separate data also showed the US economy ⁠grew faster than previously estimated in the first quarter thanks to a downward revision to imports, ‌but consumer spending almost stalled, casting doubt on growth momentum in the second quarter.

The dollar index, which measures its strength against a basket of six major peers, slipped 0.3% to 101.2, but ⁠remained not far from its strongest level since May 2025. Treasury yields dropped on Friday, with 2-year yields down ​3 basis points to 4.09% to mark a fourth day of declines, while 10-year yields were last down 1 bp at 4.38%. In precious metals, gold was last up 0.5% on the day ⁠to $4,046.

Meanwhile futures tied to the ‌tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street losses on Friday as chip stocks came under renewed pressure, while some megacap technology names ​also edged lower as ⁠AI worries persisted.

US equities are heading into the close of a volatile week marked by ‌erratic sentiment surrounding technology stocks, as investors ‌weigh elevated AI-driven valuations and growing uncertainty over how soon heavy data-centre investments would yield profits.

Chip stocks - among the biggest winners of this year's AI rally - remained under pressure through the week, briefly finding some relief after memory chipmaker Micron's robust quarterly forecast before coming under ‌renewed selling pressure on Friday.

Micron Technology shed 5.4% in premarket trading after jumping more than 15% in the previous session. Intel and Advanced ⁠Micro Devices were also down over 3.5% each and Nvidia slid 1%.

Apple shares were steady after dropping over 6% on Thursday when it raised prices on some products due to soaring memory and storage chip costs.

Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, with Tesla and Alphabet edging lower while Amazon.com and Microsoft were on the rise.

"With valuations elevated and the Fed maintaining a cautious stance, investors are becoming increasingly discerning about where they deploy capital," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

A report that OpenAI ​was considering delaying its public debut until next year also weighed on risk sentiment towards the tech space.

"This ‌move would be heavy with symbolism given the company essentially kicked off the whole AI theme in earnest with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

The benchmark S&P 500 ended flat in the previous session ⁠as losses in Big Tech were offset by gains in industrials, healthcare and materials.

Recent market volatility has driven investors toward overlooked sectors poised to benefit from easing inflation concerns and stronger growth prospects.

Cooling tensions in the Middle East have further helped lift the blue-chip Dow to record ​highs.

As of ‌last close, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were on pace for steep weekly losses while the Dow was set ‌for mild advances.

Shares of Elon Musk's SpaceX, which debuted earlier this month, were down 1.7% in choppy trading.

Investors expect heavy trading volume on Friday to reflect changes to the Russell indexes, including reclassification for megacaps like Microsoft and the Russell 1000's "fast-track" addition of SpaceX.

At 6:58 am ‌ET, Dow E-minis ‌were down 59 points, or 0.11%, and S&P 500 E-minis were ⁠down 38 points, or 0.51%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 371 points, or 1.25%.

Meanwhile, interest rate anxiety persisted, ‌with traders pricing in one 25-basis-point rate hike and a near-27% chance of another by year-end, according to LSEG-compiled data.

New York Fed President John Williams said on Thursday that while inflation pressures are likely to ⁠moderate this year, they remain too high. Data on Thursday showed US inflation increased further in May.

A final reading of ​June consumer sentiment is due later in the day, while the monthly jobs report is due next week.

Synaptics rose 4.2% after ON Semiconductor said it has agreed to acquire the company in an all-stock deal valued at ⁠about $7 billion. Onsemi dropped 14.1%.

Reuters