US Stocks Rise as Oil Falls and AI Shares Slip

At the same time, the AI trade took another hit. Micron, Intel and Sandisk all traded about 2% lower at the open, while CoreWeave dropped more than 3%, and the Nasdaq underperformed as investors pulled back from the sector that has driven much of this year’s rally.

The shift was not limited to the US. European benchmarks turned higher as Wall Street stabilized, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.1%, the DAX up 0.2% and the CAC-40 barely positive, while in Budapest the BUX ended lower after earlier gains, hit mainly by Mol and OTP.

Oil’s retreat was especially important for markets after both benchmarks had earlier touched multi-month highs on Middle East tensions. Brent fell 2.8% and WTI dropped 1.6% after giving back some of the war premium, a welcome relief for airlines, transport names and other energy-sensitive sectors.

That helped explain why Goldman Sachs told clients the recent mood deterioration itself could create a buying opportunity and lifted its equity stance to overweight for the next three months. For investors, the message is that higher rates and geopolitical shocks are still causing sharp cross-asset swings, but they are also opening tactical entry points.

Technical signals also show the market is still shaky. SPY slipped to $759.97, below its 50-day average of $766.90, while the RSI fell to 36.9, a level that points to weak momentum without yet flashing a full capitulation. QQQ was even weaker, with its RSI down to 23.7 and the fund trading well under its 50-day average, underscoring how concentrated the selling remains in mega-cap tech.

The next test is whether earnings can keep offsetting macro and geopolitics. If oil keeps cooling and results outside AI stay firm, cyclical and value stocks could keep leading; if the selloff in chips and data-center names deepens, the market’s late-day optimism could prove fragile.