Oil fund fell 3.1% Friday on US-Iran truce hopes
The United States Oil Fund closed at $148.39, down 3.1%, on Friday, September 25, as markets weighed hopes for a truce that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Lower oil prices took some pressure off stocks. DIA, which holds the Dow, rose 0.9%, SPY, which holds the S&P 500, rose 0.5%, and IWM, a fund of smaller US companies, rose 0.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield eased back to 5.17% as oil fell. TLT, a fund of long-term US government bonds, still fell 0.1% to $79.32 after trading at $78.83, its lowest price in 52 weeks.
Fuel futures fell much harder than oil shares
UGA, which holds gasoline futures, fell 4.0%. BNO, which holds Brent crude futures, lost 3.5%, UNG, which holds natural gas futures, lost 3.6%, and USO, which holds futures on US crude, lost 3.1%. XLE, a fund of energy-company shares, fell 0.9%, less than a third as much as any of them.
Negotiators in New York have been discussing a phased path that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a main route for oil out of the Persian Gulf, and lift the US blockade of Iran. On Thursday, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said Tehran had offered a plan to open the strait in seven days if Washington meets its conditions. Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade, said diplomatic hopes were "helping oil prices weather the latest military strikes."
Cybersecurity was the other sharp loss: Global X's cybersecurity fund, BUG, fell 4.2% to $44.71, still up 77% over six months and 5.5% below its highest price in 52 weeks, and Amplify's cybersecurity fund, HACK, fell 3.5%.
Fuel and cyber funds fell 3.5% to 4.2%; SPY rose 0.5%
- −4.2%
- −4.0%
- −3.6%
- −3.5%
- −3.5%
- +0.5%
Away from the oil story
Costco rose 2.9% to $922.77 after Thursday's results. Profit was $6.75 a share, above a $6.54 estimate and above $5.87 a year earlier. The $6.75 includes $0.15 a share from tariff refunds that will not repeat. Net sales in the 16-week quarter rose 11.2% to $93.9 billion. Sales at warehouses open at least a year rose 9.4%, and 6.7% once gasoline prices and currency moves are removed, so gasoline is in Costco's number as well as in Friday's fuel funds.
Akamai rose 3.2% to $113.94. On Thursday it announced a seven-year, $11.6 billion commitment from Anthropic to use Akamai's cloud for growing CPU workloads. Akamai also gave Anthropic a warrant, a right to buy shares later, for up to about 5% of the company. About 2% of the company vests with this commitment. The remaining roughly 3% vests as the commitment expands by up to an additional $9 billion.
The shares traded as high as $128.46, 16% above Thursday's close, and kept only a slice of that. Akamai said the deal would not change its 2026 revenue guidance, and that capital spending this year would rise by about $1.7 billion. The contract is expected to start in the back half of 2027. Some analysts raised a concern about how much the company would depend on Anthropic.
Bitwise's fund that holds Chainlink, CLNK, rose 5.0% to $25.33, ahead of Grayscale's Chainlink fund, GLNK, which rose 4.6% to $12.32. Grayscale's Solana fund, GSOL, rose 4.2% to $9.26.
The offer still has a condition
The offer would reopen the strait in seven days only if Washington accepts Iran's conditions. USO is still up 115% this year.
Frequently asked
Why did the oil fund fall Friday?
Markets weighed hopes for a truce that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
What did Iran offer?
Iran's foreign minister said Tehran had offered a plan to open the strait in seven days if Washington meets its conditions.
Did energy-company shares fall as much as oil?
A fund of energy-company shares fell 0.9%, less than a third as much as any of the fuel-futures funds.
How much is the oil fund up this year?
USO is still up 115% this year.