Friday's session closed a turbulent week as three converging catalysts weighed on markets: Brent crude settled down 4.34% and WTI fell 3.74% as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz rebounded, even after Iran's IRGC struck a Singapore-flagged cargo vessel near the Omani coast — a confirmed ceasefire violation that President Trump called 'a foolish violation' on Truth Social. Separately, a New York Times report that OpenAI is leaning toward delaying its IPO until 2027 — after CEO Sam Altman refused advisers' suggestion to accept a sub-$1 trillion valuation — hammered tech sentiment globally, sending SoftBank shares down 12%+ in Tokyo and dragging chip stocks lower in the U.S. The Nasdaq ended the week down roughly 5.2%, snapping a two-week win streak, while the S&P 500 closed the week nearly 2% lower.
→ Asian market open Monday — will SoftBank's collapse and AI valuation fears extend the global tech rout into a second week?
→ Strait of Hormuz developments — any further IRGC attacks or tanker turn-backs could reverse oil's sharp weekly decline and reignite energy inflation fears.
→ Fed rate-hike odds — Friday's hot May PCE print and a Bank of America note warning of up to three hikes in 2026 have put monetary policy back in focus; watch for Fed speaker commentary next week.
→ OpenAI / Anthropic IPO calendar — with OpenAI pushing toward 2027, markets will reassess AI scarcity premium in public names like NVDA, MSFT, and AMD.