AI stock selloff weighs on markets as oil prices climb

Artificial intelligence and other technology stocks fell sharply Thursday, weighing on markets worldwide as oil prices climbed amid concern that the war involving Iran could disrupt energy supplies. In a later update during the session, the S&P 500 was down 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 2.6%. Those were intraday figures, not reported closing levels. The technology selloff obscured gains elsewhere in the U.S. market. Nearly two-thirds of S&P 500 stocks rose, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up less than 0.1%, according to the later update. The market’s broad weakness followed sharper declines in Asia, where the Kospi fell 3.5%, the Hang Seng dropped 3% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.7%. Brent crude rose as much as 3.7% to $112.80 a barrel in one report, after reaching its highest level since May. Earlier intraday reports placed the benchmark at different prices as it rose during the session. The gains reflected concern that the conflict involving Iran could impede the return of global energy supplies to normal, though the precise effect on supply remained uncertain. Iranian state television reported that seven oil tankers caught fire and were damaged in...