Brent Hits $110, Rate-Hike Fears Hammer Stocks And Gold: What's Moving Markets Friday?

U.S. equities fell to their lowest level since November on Friday as surging energy prices from the ongoing Middle East conflict deepened stagflation fears, with the S&P 500 shedding nearly 1% and the 10-year Treasury yield climbing to its highest point since July 2025. In an official statement, Iran reiterated its hardline stance on the Strait of Hormuz, saying it will not engage in any discussions while under attack. WTI crude surged past $97 per barrel, while Brent hit $110, up 50% since the start of the war, as energy infrastructure attacks headlined by the strike on Qatar’s South Pars LNG field and Kuwait’s key refineries continued to rattle traders. The 10-year Treasury yield responded by jumping 12 basis points to 4.38%, its highest since July 2025. The 2-year note rose 9 bps to 3.89%, and the 30-year yield climbed to 4.95%. Interest-rate markets now price in a roughly 50% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike by October. Across U.S. equity markets by midday Friday, losses were broad-based, with all major benchmarks trading lower and volatility rising. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 6,554 points, hovering near four-month lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 165 points, or 0.4%, to 45,855. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1% to 24,100 while the small-cap Russell 2000 underperformed, down 1.35% to 2,460. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) jumped 5.8% to 25.46, signaling a pickup in market stress. Precious metals sold off sharply — gold – as tracked by the SPDR Gold Shared (NYSE:GLD) – fell 1.7% to $4,570 per ounce, on track for its biggest weekly decline since 1983, while silver crashed 4.2% to $69.71/oz as rate-hike bets eroded the metals’ appeal. Copper shed 1.7% to $5.34/lb, a three-month low. Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices IndexLastChange% changeMTDYTDS&P 5006,554.82-51.67-0.81%-4.17%+15.62%Dow Jones45,855.96-165.47-0.40%-6.16%+9.08%Nasdaq 10024,103.35-251.93-1.03%-2.57%+21.87%Russell 20002,461.10-33.61-1.35%-6.12%+19.62%Updated by 1:00 PM ET Energy The Only Green Sector, SMCI Tumbles Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) led all sectors with a gain of 1.5%, the only sector in the green as crude and LNG prices climbed. Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) added a modest 0.6%, buoyed by news that incoming banking regulation is likely to reduce capital mandates — particularly for smaller lenders — easing the compliance burden across the sector. Every other sector declined. The sharpest damage fell on the most rate-sensitive pockets of the market. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) slid 2.4% and Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) dropped 2.2% as surging yields repriced their long-duration cash flows. Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) fell 1.3%, dragged by mega-cap losses in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) , down 2%), Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), down 1.9%, and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) down 1.2%. Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) plunged 28% after the company’s CEO was charged with smuggling Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) chips to China in violation of U.S. export controls. Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) itself fell 1.56% to $175.78. Against the gloomy backdrop, FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) stood out as a bright spot, rallying approximately 10% after reporting earnings per share of $5.25 — sharply above the consensus estimate of $4.01 — and issuing guidance that impressed analysts. The delivery giant’s earnings underscored resilient demand in logistics despite macroeconomic headwinds. Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) also gained 5.8% to $165.90, one of the session’s top performers in the Russell 1000. Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers Name% changeDell Technologies Inc. +5.83%Virtu Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT)+4.50%Corcept Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:CORT)+4.27%Nexstar Media Group Inc. (NASDAQ:NXST)+4.00%Matador Resources Co. (NYSE:MTDR)+3.89% Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers Name% changeSuper Micro Computer Inc. -28.01%Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)-8.97%Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR)-8.22%Huntsman Corp. (NYSE:HUN)-6.85%Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)-6.81% Image: Shutterstock