US stocks sank on Friday as Wall Street kept punishing companies that could become losers in the artificial-intelligence revolution. A surprisingly discouraging update on inflation also hurt the market, while oil prices climbed with worries about tensions between the United States and Iran .

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent and staggered to the finish of just its second losing month in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521 points, or 1.1 percent, the Nasdaq composite sank 0.9 percent.

Some of the strongest action in financial markets was for oil, where the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.8 percent to settle at $67.02. It’s the latest swing in a market unsettled by tensions between the United States and Iran over Iran’s nuclear programme.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 3.96 percent. It briefly swivelled higher following the inflation report, but it’s down from its 4.02 percent level late on Thursday. Treasury yields often fall when nervousness is high and investors are moving into investments that are considered safer.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 29.98 points to 6,878.88. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 521.28 to 48,977.92, and the Nasdaq composite sank 210.17 to 22,668.21. (AP)



Edited by Robert Kemp