Dow drops over 500 points as oil spikes on renewed Iran tension

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 543 points, roughly a 1% loss, as oil prices jumped more than 3% on heightened worries that fighting between the United States and Iran could flare up again. The broader S&P 500 fell 0.3%, while Brent crude headed toward its strongest weekly finish since April. Reports suggest Washington and Israel may be planning new strikes, prompting Iran to caution that civilian sites in neighboring nations could be targeted if the U.S. and Israel resume air operations.

Additional U.S. forces are being deployed to the Middle East. In corporate news, American Express disclosed a global layoff of about 5% of its staff, while Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs saw modest share declines, and technology shares displayed mixed performance, with Micron and AMD posting gains. A portfolio manager noted investors have been rotating from tech to safer assets, but solid recent earnings could soon draw capital back to the sector.