Wall Street declined on Friday, with CoreWeave, Broadcom and other AI-linked stocks extending losses as investors weighed mounting debt risks and climbing oil prices.

The Nasdaq was poised for a weekly decline exceeding 4%, pressured by worries that heavily indebted AI infrastructure firms might fail to generate sufficient profits before borrowing costs rise further. CoreWeave, a data center operator backed by Nvidia, dropped 12%, extending its five-day slide to roughly 25%. Its bonds fell sharply, pushing yields above 15%. Broadcom slipped 3.6%, and the PHLX chip index fell 2.5%, marking its eighth consecutive day of losses.

Oil prices rose more than 3% on Friday amid concerns over Middle East supply disruptions, adding to market anxiety. "There is some fear in the market," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle. "High oil prices tend to weigh on price/earnings multiples, and investors are being cautious heading into the weekend rather than taking on more risk."

Concerns about AI financing also intensified. Some current and prospective investors in Anthropic are considering a lower valuation for the company ahead of its anticipated IPO, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 fell 1.22% to 7,649.71 points, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.19% to 26,128.13 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.55% to 51,891.77 points.

All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes were lower, with communication services and information technology leading the declines. Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 1.3-to-one ratio across the index.

Third-quarter earnings season begins next week with reports from Tesla, Meta Platforms and Procter & Gamble. Analysts expect quarterly earnings to surge over 30% on average, driven by AI-related megacaps, according to LSEG data. While the S&P 500 remains up about 12% year to date, most gains have been concentrated among AI-linked technology stocks; the median S&P 500 component has risen only about 6% in 2026. Approximately 185 S&P 500 constituents have fallen so far this year.

Recent inflation data came in hotter than expected, indicating persistent price pressures beyond energy commodities. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh expressed optimism about U.S. economic strength and noted surprise at how global economies have weathered prolonged energy shocks and tighter monetary policy.

Markets increasingly anticipate the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady this month. Barclays now projects 25-basis-point rate hikes in December and January.

Tesla shares slipped 2.5% after unveiling a redesigned Roadster featuring rocket-style thrusters developed in collaboration with SpaceX. Netflix appointed former Disney executive Peter Rice as chief content officer, causing its stock to fall 2.9%.

(This article has been corrected to update the year to 2026 from 2025 in paragraph 13.)

Anthropic is proposing to Blackstone a yield exceeding 10% to secure financing for its recent chip-related agreement, according to a Financial Times report published on Friday. The proposed arrangement would involve Blackstone funds investing $9 billion in debt instruments that are collateralized by a five-year lease on Anthropic's chip purchases, the report said, citing individuals with knowledge of the situation. Reuters has not independently confirmed the details of the report.

Twelve ships have reported attacks in and around the Strait of Hormuz between 5 and 11 October, the highest weekly total recorded since the US‑Israeli conflict with Iran escalated, according to data compiled by BBC Verify from the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency. Six of those vessels were hit on 8 October alone, marking a single‑day peak. Four additional incidents have been logged since the start of the week.

The surge in reported strikes coincides with a slowdown in oil shipments through the waterway. Trade‑intelligence firm Kpler recorded 12.6 million barrels per day passing the strait on 13 October, down from 15 million barrels per day at the end of September and well below the pre‑war average of about 17 million barrels per day. The decline follows a brief recovery in August, when assisted transits helped lift flows toward earlier levels.

BBC Verify extracted incident reports from the UKMTO website and plotted them against the dates cited in each filing, noting that some entries reference the attack date while others use the reporting date. Experts say Iran has been targeting vessels to tighten its grip on the strait as the US military increases the number of tankers it escorts through the southern corridor to avoid Iranian attacks. The pattern now extends beyond the immediate strait, with attacks recorded farther from the waterway, including one more than 500 km from the strait near Qatar.

On 8 October a Nicaraguan‑flagged tanker, the Petro Dolphin, was struck by a drone close to Sohar Anchorage, Oman, igniting a fire that was captured on verified footage by a nearby crew. Eleven Indian crew members were rescued; two remain missing, according to the Forward Seamen's Union of India. Another tanker, the container ship GFS Pride, sank after a strike on 9 October. Twenty‑one crew were evacuated safely, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage of the sinking, describing the vessel as carrying "2,500 containers of contraband" and traveling an "unauthorised route."

The US Central Command has posted on social media that commercial traffic continues to move through the strait under coordinated protection from US forces and regional partners, despite the attacks. Martin Kelly, chief executive of Orbital Risk Intelligence, said Iran has "evolved its strategy" in response to what it perceives as a loosening of control over the waterway, carrying out "near daily or multiple attacks every single day" to deter shipping and prevent vessels from passing.

Iranian state media reported that the IRGC navy has announced a "new deployment formation" across the region, indicating that strikes will not be confined to the Strait of Hormuz. The group has also targeted ships near the coasts of Gulf Arab states and in the Gulf of Oman, including an attack on 9 October close to the UAE town of Al‑Jazirah al‑Hamra.

These incidents underscore a broader escalation in maritime tension that is beginning to affect oil export volumes, even as the United States continues to provide escort services for commercial vessels navigating the strategic waterway.

A recent Harris Poll commissioned by the Guardian found that 64% of U.S. adults believe the country is currently in a recession. This perception persists even though the standard economic definition – two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product growth – has not been met by official data.

Many respondents cite rising prices and a stagnant labor market as tangible signs of economic strain. The survey invited participants to describe personal indicators they associate with an impending downturn, such as job insecurity, reduced spending at local retailers, or changes in school budgets.

Respondents described noticing tighter household budgets, delayed hiring by employers, and reduced discretionary spending in their communities. Some mentioned observing longer lines at discount stores or fewer new construction projects in their neighborhoods.

The poll collected these accounts through an online form that allowed anonymous submissions. Participants were asked to identify specific signals in their daily lives that suggested economic weakness, and to explain how those signals affected their personal finances or local communities.

The Guardian emphasized that submitted information would be used solely for this feature and deleted after publication. Contact details provided by respondents were intended only for follow-up inquiries related to the project.

While the survey captured widespread feelings of economic unease, it did not verify the existence of a technical recession. Instead, it documented how economic pressures are being experienced and interpreted by ordinary Americans across different regions and demographic groups.