Apple Raised Prices. Asia Fell. Oil Near $74. Bitcoin Faces $10 Billion Options Expiry.

Apple (AAPL) raised prices on MacBooks and iPads after memory costs surged. The move reversed Thursday's optimism across Asia. South Korea's Kospi fell 5.7%, while Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each lost more than 6% after reports both companies plan to expand memory production. Japan's Nikkei dropped 3.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 2%.

The reaction looked backward.

Micron Technology (MU) had just reported one of the strongest quarters in company history. Revenue reached $41.46 billion. Guidance climbed to $50 billion. High-bandwidth memory is effectively sold out through 2027.

Apple confirmed the other side of that story.

Memory demand remains strong enough that higher costs are now reaching consumers.

U.S. futures were lower. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped about 0.8%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.5%. The 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.45%. Brent traded around $74. Bitcoin stayed near $61,000.

The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading arrives later today.

The Signal

Micron proved AI demand remains strong. Apple proved AI inflation has reached consumers. The market is now pricing both stories together.

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Brent traded near $74 after briefly falling below $73 earlier this week, erasing nearly all of the gains recorded during the Iran conflict.

Physical flows continue improving.

More than 20 million barrels reportedly crossed the Strait of Hormuz in one day, close to prewar levels. Saudi tankers resumed shipments through Ras Tanura, and Qatar issued its first postwar crude tender.

Confidence remains fragile.

A cargo ship was struck near Oman on Thursday, briefly lifting Brent back toward $75. Iran continues discussing possible tolls after the current 60-day agreement expires, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued international waterways cannot become toll roads.

Oil remains on track for a third straight weekly decline.

Energy Signal

Hormuz is moving oil again. The legal framework still has gaps. Markets are pricing recovery faster than diplomacy.

Headline PCE rose 4.1% year over year. Core PCE increased 3.4%. Both matched expectations. First-quarter GDP was revised up to 2.1% from 1.6%.

The economy remains resilient.

Inflation remains above target.

That combination leaves Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh with little urgency to cut rates while keeping future hikes available.

Bank of America still expects three quarter-point hikes this year, which would lift the federal funds rate to 4.25% to 4.50%.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended Warsh's decision to reduce forward guidance, arguing markets should rely more on incoming data than Fed forecasts.

Today's Michigan Consumer Sentiment report offers the week's final read on consumers.

Macro Signal

PCE gave the Fed room to wait. Data now matters more because guidance matters less.

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Qualcomm (QCOM) raised its long-term revenue target to $40 billion, including more than $15 billion from data centers. Meta Platforms (META) plans to deploy Qualcomm's Dragonfly C1000 AI processor.

The bigger story is the IPO market.

OpenAI is reportedly leaning toward delaying its IPO until 2027. Anthropic is considering the same path.

SpaceX (SPCX) became the market's case study.

After raising roughly $86 billion in the largest IPO ever, the stock rallied above $225 before falling back near $153. The experience appears to be making private AI companies more cautious about entering public markets.

Capital Signal

Micron confirmed AI demand. Qualcomm expanded the opportunity. OpenAI is waiting for a better IPO window.

About $10 billion of Bitcoin options expire on Deribit, representing roughly 37% of total open interest.

Bitcoin traded near $61,000 after briefly falling below $60,000 earlier this week.

ETF flows remain the larger problem.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have lost nearly $3 billion this month. Strategy (MSTR) continues facing questions around its STRC preferred shares, which remain below par and limit future financing flexibility.

Crypto also faced a security reminder.

Prediction market platform Polymarket suffered a third-party supply-chain attack that drained roughly $3 million from fewer than 15 wallets. The company said affected users will be fully reimbursed.

The Verdict

Options expiry dominates today's tape. Longer term, crypto still needs ETF inflows to return before price can sustain a recovery.

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The market ends the week balancing two realities.

Micron proved AI demand remains exceptionally strong.

Apple showed that demand now carries higher costs for consumers.

Oil has largely erased its wartime premium, but Hormuz still depends on temporary agreements.

Inflation remains above target, while growth continues holding up.

OpenAI's reported IPO delay may be the week's biggest long-term signal. SpaceX's post-IPO volatility reminded every private AI company that public markets reward execution, not excitement alone.

Bitcoin now closes the week with a $10 billion options expiry, while AI finishes it with another record quarter.

The market is no longer asking whether AI demand exists.

It is asking who earns the profits and who absorbs the costs.