Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said no talks between Iran and the US were under way and that there was no plan for any meetings, contradicting President Donald Trump, who had said talks would take place Monday afternoon, according to media reports.
Iran indicated it was in discussions with Oman to get more ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, adding those talks are about a "temporary" route to ensure the safety of ships, but US talks are on hold, according to reports.
Energy stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index rising 0.6% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) adding 0.7%.The Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index was climbing 2.3%, and the Dow Jones US Utilities Index decreased 0.4%.In geopolitical news, Iran said Friday that it had targeted US military assets at Kuwait's Ahmad Al-Jaber airbase, describing the attack as retaliation for US strikes a day earlier, Al Jazeera reported Friday. The US has not responded to Iran's attack yet, and specific details about the damage and casualties are not known, the report said.Separately, President Donald Trump said the US has an "understanding" with Israel to start implementing an agreement in Gaza that would require Israeli forces to withdraw and Hamas to give up its weapons, a critical step in implementing a multi-phase peace plan to end the war, according to CNN. A senior Hamas official told CNN that the militant group had agreed to the deal with the US-backed Board of Peace, contingent on Israel upholding its obligations. Hamas has never before agreed to a specific plan to hand over its weapons, according to CNN.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.3% to $84.64 a barrel, and the global benchmark Brent crude contract added 1.2% to $90.12 a barrel. Henry Hub natural gas futures shed 0.4% to $2.75 per 1 million BTU.In corporate news, Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) on Friday reported year-over-year gains in their Q2 results as the supply disruptions in the Middle East boosted oil prices. Exxon shares were down 0.8%, and Chevron rose 2.5%.Phillips 66 (PSX) said Friday its board authorized an additional $10 billion of share repurchases, increasing the company's buyback capacity as the remaining authorization nears depletion. Phillips 66 shares were up 0.4%.Shell (SHEL) has agreed to sell its BG Cyprus subsidiary to MOL Group for up to $720 million, subject to customary adjustments and milestone-linked contingent payments, the company said Friday. Shell shares were up 1.4%.BP (BP) said Friday it has launched a process to market its North Sea oil and gas business for a potential sale as part of its broader portfolio review. BP shares rose 1.9%.
Financial stocks were slightly higher in late Friday afternoon trading, with the NYSE Financial Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) each fractionally higher.The Philadelphia Housing Index was decreasing 0.3%, and the State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) was shedding 0.5%.Bitcoin (BTC-USD) was falling 2.7% to $62,986, and the yield for 10-year US Treasuries climbed 8.2 basis points to 4.745%.In economic news, US consumer sentiment jumped in July amid broad-based gains across demographic groups, while year-ahead inflation expectations eased, final results of a survey by the University of Michigan showed Friday. The main sentiment index increased nearly 12% sequentially to 55.2 this month. The gauge for current economic conditions jumped to 54.8 from 47.7, while the index of consumer expectations advanced 9.3% to 55.4, according to the survey.In sector news, Jefferies Financial's (JEF) Point Bonita fund is one of at least two creditors currently reviewing their exposure to Radiant World after two trading houses found invoices or other documents the company provided to banks were not valid, Bloomberg reported. Jefferies shares were down 0.4%.Coinbase (COIN) shares fell 7.8% on Friday, a day after the company reported lower-than-expected Q2 results.Apollo Global Management (APO) and KKR (KKR) are facing increased scrutiny from US insurance regulators over fast-growing multi-asset securitization structures that officials say could pose transparency and "circular ownership" risks, the Financial Times reported. Apollo shares were up 3.8%, and KKR was gaining 0.2%.HSBC (HSBC) said Friday it expects to incur $300 million in restructuring costs and write-offs following its decision to sell its Australian home loans and personal loans portfolio and wind down the remainder of the retail business in the country over the next 18 months. Separately, HSBC has held early talks to transfer billions of pounds of assets from its UK pension scheme to insurers after being approached by potential buyers, Bloomberg reported. HSBC shares were down 0.6%.
Tech stocks were mixed late Friday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) down 0.1% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) rising 1.6%.The Philadelphia Semiconductor index added 1%.In corporate news, Amazon's (AMZN) Web Services cloud-computing unit reported overnight the fastest sales growth in 18 quarters, helping the e-commerce giant handily exceed market expectations for Q2 earnings and revenue. Its shares jumped past 15%.Apple (AAPL) shares fell past 8% after the company missed market estimates for iPad and services revenue in its fiscal Q3 results released late Thursday. The tech giant recently increased prices for MacBooks and iPads amid surging memory and storage chip costs.NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) is in talks to buy Ambarella (AMBA), a designer of chips used in the camera technology for self-driving cars, the Financial Times reported. Ambarella shares surged 17%, and NXP shares were down 6%.Roblox (RBLX) shares fell 27% in Friday trading after it withdrew its 2026 guidance.