The Dow falls more than 500 points as oil hits highest level in months

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 543 points, or 1%, in Friday trading as oil prices climbed on worries that hostilities between the U.S. and Iran might reignite. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose more than 3% to $102.98 a barrel. Brent crude gained 3.5% to $117.10 and is headed for its strongest finish since April, according to The Wall Street Journal.

According to CNBC, Washington and Israel may be preparing fresh strikes against Iran. Iran has said it stands ready to retaliate. Additional U.S. forces are headed to the Middle East, while Iran cautioned that civilian targets in neighboring countries would be hit if the U.S. and Israel resume their air campaign, according to The Wall Street Journal.

American Express $AXP stock slid over 3% after the company announced it would let go of roughly 5% of its employees worldwide in order to “prepare for AI.” Caterpillar $CAT stock lost roughly 2% and Goldman Sachs $GS shares shed about 1%, further weighing on the 30-stock index. Consumer staples, utilities and healthcare stocks also traded lower.

Technology stocks were mixed after Thursday's selloff. Micron $MU Technology stock gained 4% and Advanced Micro Devices stock rose 2%. Microsoft $MSFT stock ticked higher.

"For the last two weeks, investors have been sprinting from tech stocks and data center beneficiary stocks to safe stuff, and eventually, you run out of people willing to do that sprint, and that's what today looks like and feels like," Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, told CNBC. Ellerbroek said results from technology companies have been solid in recent weeks, which offers investors grounds to come back to the sector.

SK Hynix scrapped plans to list its chip-memory unit in the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.

The 10-year Treasury yield held at about 4.994%.

Dow futures had pointed lower on Thursday on worries about AI spending and higher oil prices. Brent traded above $111 a barrel at that point. President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that no negotiations were under way between Washington and Tehran and that something will happen "fairly soon."

For the week, the Dow is tracking for a 0.7% gain. The S&P 500 is down less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq $NDAQ Composite is down 0.2%.