Oil Flirts With $100, Energy Grins While Tech Sulks

Right now the S&P 500 is down 0.28% and the Nasdaq off 0.23%, both starting the session a touch heavy. Word that a Houthi strike on Saudi Arabia has oil flirting with $100 is lifting energy and utilities while cybersecurity names get dragged down instead, and it feels like New York inherited the same heavy mood that closed out yesterday's Kospi (-0.58%) and Kosdaq (-1.25%), with the won also softer around 1,345. Still, compared to my 04:40 read the drop has actually narrowed by +0.10pp on the S&P and +0.06pp on the Nasdaq, so this oil-driven inflation scare doesn't seem to be crushing the tape just yet. On my book, ConocoPhillips (+7.7%), Microsoft (+24.6%), and Nvidia (+8.2%) are all sitting in the green while Duksan Neolux is the lone red mark at -11.8%, and I'm just watching it all play out. Into the close, I'll be watching whether oil keeps climbing and whether that gap between energy and tech keeps widening.