Oil rises, stocks fall, war rages

As the US, Israel and Iran dig in their heels in the ongoing war and oil can’t pass through the Strait of Hormuz, markets tumbled on Friday to cap a losing week. The S&P closed -1.51% on Friday, the Nasdaq -2.01% (and slightly more for the week), and the Dow -0.96%. Over the week, the S&P surrendered 1.9% and the Dow shed more than 2%. The TSX fell 575 points or 1.81% and lost 3.76% for the week. WTI rose 2.78% to US$98.80, stoking inflation fears and pushing the U.S. 10-year yield to 4.382% as a US Fed rate hike enters the conversation. Meanwhile, materials were the worst performer on Bay Street after gold slid over 3% to US$4,505 and silver tanked 6.3% to US$68.10.

On Bay Street, only staples saw any gains. In contrast, healthcare and tech joined materials as one of the 10 sectors that sank on Friday. Key names: CNQ -3.04% as the most active, Denison Mines -4.97%, B2Gold -6.75%, Lithium Americas -7.59% and Vizsla -6.85%. In New York: Nvidia -3.28%, Intel -5%, Vistra -12.76% and Constellation Energy -10.9%. Super Micro Computer shares lost exactly a third of their value after its co-founder was arrested for smuggling Nvidia AI chips into China. Meanwhile, Bitcoin sank below US$70,000 after shedding US$600.

🛢 Canadian Natural Rsrcs (CNQ-T) -3.04%

⛏ Denison Mines Corp (DML-T) -4.97%

🥇 B2Gold Corp. (BTO-T) -6.75%

⛓ Lithium Americas Corp (LAC-T) -7.59%

⛏ Vizsla Resources (VZLA-X) -6.85%

💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) -3.28%

💾 Intel (INTC-Q) -5%

💡 Vistra (VST-N) -12.76%

💡 Constellation Energy (CEG-Q) -10.9%