U.S. stocks fell Friday as Brent crude advanced on worries about the Iran war and investors weighed AI costs after technology shares led a sharp decline a day earlier.
At 1:52 p.m. EDT (17:52 UTC), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 591 points lower, a 1.1% decline, the Associated Press reported. Brent crude had gained 2.8% to $111.69 a barrel. The S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.1%; about three-quarters of S&P 500 stocks were lower, while Chevron advanced 2.4% and ConocoPhillips added 3.8%. The Associated Press linked crude’s rise to concerns about the Iran war.
Both Reuters and the Associated Press linked Thursday’s technology losses to doubts about the payoff from AI spending. Reuters reported the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index fell 6.7% that day, its steepest session since June 23, while Meta shares lost 7.0%.
Thursday’s closes were mixed across the major indexes. Reuters reported the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% to 26,008.86 and the S&P 500 dropped 1.21% to 7,663.43, while the Dow rose 0.02% to 52,867.98. Nasdaq’s official index page later listed 26,008.86 as the Composite’s previous close.
Earlier Friday, around 3:45 a.m. EDT (07:45 UTC), Dow futures were down 0.37% near 52,870, FXStreet reported. The outlet put S&P 500 futures down 0.07% near 7,700 and Nasdaq-100 futures up 0.16% around 29,190.
Meta’s Oct. 21 results filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission set its 2026 capital expenditure outlook at $135 billion to $145 billion, including principal payments on finance leases. The prior range was $130 billion to $145 billion. Meta said it expected returns from AI investments to take longer to arrive than returns from its core business.
The Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to meet Oct. 27-28. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will release September personal income and outlays, including the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, on Oct. 29 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 UTC).
