Oil Surge Stokes Inflation Fears; Dow Falls 1.2% as Apple Briefly Tops Nvidia

The oil-driven inflation scare is doing more than denting equities: it is re-pricing the rate path, which is why Treasuries and gold moved together rather than as hedges. The Apple-Nvidia market-cap crossover is a sideshow to that macro signal, but it shows capital still crowding into AI leaders even on a risk-off day. The Iran headlines are the real tail risk — a decision point on strikes could turn a 3% oil move into something far more persistent. Whether crude holds these gains into next week, and whether gold's slide reflects forced selling or a genuine shift in the inflation hedge trade, are the open questions.