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US Equity Indexes Mixed This Week as Surging Technology Fails to Outweigh Iran Geopolitics

-- US equity indexes closed mixed this week, as quarterly earnings helped the technology sector top charts while a failure to hold the second round of Iran peace talks knocked confidence.

* The S&P 500 closed at 7,165.08 on Friday, up 0.6% this week, according to data compiled by FactSet. The Nasdaq Composite ended at 24,836.60, rising 1.5% over the past five days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 49,310.32, down 0.4% from a week ago.

* Technology and energy led sector gainers, while health care and financials were among the steepest decliners.

* Intel's Q1 galvanized the technology sector as the chipmaker reported blowout results, pushing its shares as high as 25% on Friday. Arm (ARM), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Texas Instruments (TXN) each delivered returns of more than 20% this week.

* Investors balked after Tesla (TSLA) unveiled its capital expenditure guidance for 2026, taking the shine off Q1 beats. TechCrunch reported the firm plans to spend $25 billion this year, compared with $8.5 billion in 2025. Tesla's shares ended 5.9% lower this week.

* Late Friday, WTI and Brent crude oil futures trading at $94.74 and $105.79, respectively, were higher from a week ago, reflecting mainly the US-Iran's failure to hold the second round of talks in Pakistan earlier this week. The duo remained at an impasse up until Thursday, as Tehran refused to negotiate a peace deal as long as the US Navy continued to blockade its ports and Washington refused to lift the siege.

* However, on Friday, news emerged that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday to participate in direct talks with Iran, CNN cited the White House. On the same day, Tehran also announced it is sending Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Pakistan, the news report said. WTI and Brent crude futures traded lower on Friday.

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