I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Brent crude surged past $116/bbl, lifting energy stocks; AT&T sank more than 6% after reports SpaceX plans to lease 80,000 cell towers; consumer sentiment hit a five-month low.
U.S. equities traded mixed on Friday as escalating Middle East tensions pushed Brent crude above $116 per barrel, propelling the energy sector to outperform. ConocoPhillips (COP) rallied more than 3%, while ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) each gained over 1%. The oil spike, however, deepened inflation fears and weighed on the broader market, dragging major indices lower.
The telecom sector suffered steep losses. Reports that SpaceX intends to lease 80,000 cell sites to transform into a nationwide mobile carrier continued to roil the space, sending AT&T (T) tumbling 6.62%—its sharpest decline in months. Verizon (VZ) shed 1.65%, as the traditional telecom trio faces a potential reshaping of the competitive landscape. In clean energy, Bloom Energy (BE) plunged 11.89%, leading the sector lower.
Big tech broadly weakened. Nvidia (NVDA) slipped 0.19% to $211.81, Apple (AAPL) fell 0.54%, and Tesla (TSLA) declined 0.68%. Meta came under scrutiny as its ballooning AI capex and a third-quarter swing to negative free cash flow stoked growing skepticism over AI investment returns. Bucking the trend, Intel (INTC) rose 1.70% in a standout performance.
On the macro front, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index dropped to 48 for October, a five-month low, while long-term inflation expectations edged up to 3.5%. Goldman Sachs expects the Fed to deliver one more rate hike in December. Markets now turn to next week's earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet, and other tech giants for clues on AI's profit trajectory.