Update: Technology Helps Push US Equity Indexes Lower; Israel-Lebanon Sign 'Framework Agreement'
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and political news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell amid a decline in technology shares, while crude oil traded at levels last seen before the Iran war after a "framework agreement" was signed between Israel and Lebanon.The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 25,297.62 on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down almost 0.1% to 51,876.11, while the S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% to 7,354.02. Industrials and technology led decliners. Health care, consumer discretionary, and real estate were among the top gainers.In a category of stocks with a market capitalization of over $200 billion, 17 out of the 20 worst-performing stocks were technology firms. Western Digital (WDC) and Sandisk (SNDK) were the steepest decliners, down by at least 11% each. In the sliding technology shares, more than half were semiconductor companies.Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ), with a market capitalization of almost $11 billion, dropped 1.6% to $63.15, reflecting the pressure on AI stocks.In geopolitical news, negotiators from Lebanon and Israel signed a "framework agreement" on the handover of areas in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon after US-mediated talks in Washington, DC., according to a Friday report from Al Jazeera, a Middle East news broadcaster.This comes as Arsenio Dominguez, the secretary-general of the UN's International Maritime Organization, said 115 vessels and 2,500 seafarers have been evacuated from the Strait of Hormuz since Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.Oman has told European officials that there's no way to return to the pre-war status quo at the Strait of Hormuz, and transiting ships may be charged fees, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. "Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz cannot be guaranteed under ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes or decision-making that does not take Iran's role as a coastal state into account," Reuters cited Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi as saying on X, formerly Twitter.Nevertheless, the front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 4.2% to $72.07 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate retreated 3.5% to $69.40 per barrel, extending their declines to the lowest since the beginning of the Iran war.In economic news, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised up to 49.5 for June from 48.9 in the preliminary estimate, below expectations of 50.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled poll. The print was also above the final 44.8 in May.Respondents in the Michigan survey expected a 4.6% inflation rate over the next year and 3.3% annually over the next five years, down from 4.8% and 3.9%, respectively, in May.Most US Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year down two basis points to 4.37%. The two-year rate dropped 3.5 basis points to 4.09%.Gold futures jumped 1% to $4,086.9, and silver futures climbed 1.1% to $59.0.
