GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks edge lower as tech selloff drags markets

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Updates prices throughout with U.S. market close

European shares fall, yen near 40-year lows

Oil falls towards four-month lows

Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notch weekly losses

By Chibuike Oguh

- Global equity markets edged lower on Friday, set for a weekly decline as investors kept taking profits on high-flying technology and chip stocks, while crude oil prices slumped as more tankers left the Strait of Hormuz.

On Wall Street, all three indexes finished slightly lower in choppy trading as losses in industrials, technology and energy offset gains in healthcare and real estate stocks.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched weekly losses while the Dow was headed for a weekly gain.

Chip stocks .SOX lost 5.3%, set for a weekly loss of 7.7%, the largest weekly decline since March 2025.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 0.09%, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.05% and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC fell 0.24%.

"It's a combination of a needed and healthy period of consolidation following the historic run since March and a dramatic rotation from tech and everything else," said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.

"Overall, the selloff is modest when put in context, and I expect we resume higher once this period of consolidation concludes since investors still have a buy-the-dip mentality and fundamentals remain solid."

Price hikes announced by Apple AAPL.O had fueled worries about structural inflation from massive spending by AI giants and limited availability of key tech components.

European stocks fell nearly 0.7% .STOXX, with technology stocks .SX8P shedding 1.17%.

MSCI's index of Asian stocks outside Japan fell nearly 3% .MIAPJ0000PUS. South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 lost as much as 5.8%.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.53% and was set for a 2% loss for the week.

OIL PRICES FALL SHARPLY

Crude prices tumbled on easing supply concerns as more oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday.

Refining giant Saudi Aramco resumed oil loading on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after a nearly four-month halt, shipping data from LSEG showed.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 4.34% to settle at $72 per barrel.

YEN WEAKNESS

The yen JPY=EBS teetered near its weakest level in 40 years against the dollar at 161.76, beyond the 160 level that many see as a line in the sand for Japanese authorities.

The euro EUR= was up 0.14% at $1.1385 but was set for a second consecutive weekly loss against the dollar.

The dollar index eased but was headed for a second straight weekly gain against peers. The index =USD fell 0.16% to 101.35.

In bonds, U.S. Treasury yields fell. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR fell 1.16 basis points to 4.38%. The 2-year note US2YT=RR yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, fell 2.48 basis points to 4.096%.

Spot gold XAU= rose 1.06% to $4,068.72 an ounce.