Wall Street today: US stocks and oil prices were largely flat on Friday, heading toward a subdued end to the week after the sharp swings seen earlier as investors assessed the potential impact of the Iran conflict on global crude supplies.The S&P 500 gained 0.1%, putting it on course for its fourth weekly advance in the past five weeks. By 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 65 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was also up 0.1%.Oil prices remained broadly stable despite a series of airstrikes on Iran that were not claimed by any party, following the US announcement that it had concluded its military operations. Brent crude, the international benchmark, edged up 0.2% to $76.47 a barrel, according to an AP report.Although Brent remained above the $72 a barrel level seen at the beginning of the week—when prices had slipped below where they stood before the war with Iran—it was still far below its wartime peak of nearly $120. Investors remain concerned that any escalation in the conflict could disrupt tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, restricting crude shipments from the Persian Gulf to global markets.As uncertainty surrounding the strait persists, investors on Wall Street have begun shifting their attention to the upcoming earnings season, when companies will report their spring-quarter financial results.Delta Air Lines said strong passenger demand, including broad-based corporate travel, enabled it to offset higher fuel costs between April and June. The airline reported profit and revenue that exceeded analysts’ estimates and issued a summer profit forecast whose midpoint was above market expectations.Despite the stronger-than-expected results, Delta’s shares fell 2.5%. Even with Friday’s decline, the stock had risen 28.2% so far this year.With stock prices hovering broadly near record levels, companies across sectors will need to deliver robust earnings growth to support current valuations. Next week marks the start of a busy earnings calendar, with several of the largest US banks—including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo—scheduled to report results on Tuesday.Later on Friday, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq through its American depositary shares, a sale expected to raise nearly $26.5 billion.The company’s shares listed in Seoul have climbed more than 600% over the past year amid strong investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Rising demand for computer memory has translated that optimism into substantial profits. At the same time, the rally has fuelled concerns that AI-related stocks may have become overvalued and that the massive global investment in semiconductors and data centres may not generate sufficient productivity and profit growth to justify current valuations.Semiconductor stocks were among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 on Friday, with Micron Technology falling 2.3%.In the bond market, Treasury yields were little changed as oil prices remained steady. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note edged up to 4.55% from 4.54% at Thursday’s close.Equity markets across much of Europe and Asia also traded higher. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 2.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.2%, marking two of the strongest performances among the major global markets.
