Dow drops 550 points as Brent oil tops $116, highest since April

Oil drove the move: Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 2.6% to $116.13 a barrel, its highest level since April 30, CNBC reported, and U.S. crude rose about 3% to $102.56. Brent was on track for a weekly gain of nearly 6% and a third straight week of gains. Traders increasingly expect the U.S. to resume strikes on Iran in the coming weeks, CNBC said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran threatened to hit economic and civilian targets in neighboring Gulf countries if the U.S. attacks, and the Guardian said Tehran listed oil facilities, undersea cables and data centers. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have continued, and the State Department has ordered non-essential U.S. personnel to leave the country.

Chips and earnings: In tech, Tesla, Meta and SpaceX steadied after Thursday's losses, Investor's Business Daily said. South Korea's SK Hynix halted plans for a U.S. stock listing of Solidigm, its memory and storage-chip unit, citing market volatility, CNBC reported.

Oil this year, in four numbers: Brent traded around $72 a barrel in February, before the Iran war began, and soared to $126 by the end of April, the Guardian reported. It settled at $113.17 on Thursday, CNBC said, and reached $116.13 on Friday morning.

What it means at the pump: AAA's national average for regular gasoline was $4.29 a gallon on Friday, up about 2 cents from Thursday ($4.27) but down from $4.33 a week ago and $4.47 a month ago. A year ago it was $3.07, so drivers are paying about $1.22 a gallon more. Diesel, which moves freight and farm equipment, averaged $6.32, up from $3.63 a year ago. AAA said Thursday that cheaper winter-blend gasoline has been pulling prices down, but high crude is keeping them from falling far, and October is on pace to be the most expensive October on record.

What's still unknown: Whether the U.S. and Israel will actually resume strikes on Iran. The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported plans for strikes after the Nov. 3 midterms, but neither government has confirmed them. Also unknown is whether Thursday's AI selloff resumes when Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon report earnings next week. See Thursday's story: /article/fin-ai-selloff-meta-oil-112.

Index figures are late-morning intraday moves reported by AP around 11:15 a.m. ET Friday, Oct. 23, and will change by the close. Oil prices are intraday futures quotes from CNBC. Gas prices are AAA's national averages for Oct. 23. The report of planned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran after the Nov. 3 midterms comes from The New York Times citing unnamed U.S. officials and has not been confirmed by either government. Photos are file images, not from Friday.