Global stocks diverge, oil prices gain on geopolitical fears [Video]

Global stock markets diverged Friday after tame tech earnings and investor jitters less than a week before a neck-and-neck US presidential election.

Oil prices gained following reports that Iran was planning a major retaliatory strike on Israel as analysts say geopolitical fears have crept back into markets.

Big tech delivered a mixed bag of earnings this week, with concerns over AI spending overshadowing better-than-expected results from Microsoft and Facebook-parent Meta.

Wall Street closed sharply down on Thursday, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite index dropping nearly three percent.

Shares in Apple were lower in premarket trading even as the company enjoyed a boost from iPhone sales, while tech titan Amazon surged after it reported strong-than expected results particularly in cloud computing.

Tokyo dropped more than two percent as technology earnings hit it’s Nikkei index.

Major European indices fared better, buoyed by a forecast-beating Chinese manufacturing report that boosted hopes for recovery …