Global shares held firm on Friday as traders weighed heightened tensions over a potential conflict between the United States and Iran that has helped to push oil prices to their highest level in over six months.

Tensions between the United States and Iran have caused an increase in oil prices across the country and here in New Jersey, according to experts.

US-Iran tensions could push oil prices higher, says Goldman Sachs. The bank's co-head of commodities research said the market sees the situation escalating.

Wall Street stocks followed the example of their European counterparts by posting modest losses on Thursday as mixed economic data and simmering tensions between the U.S. and Iran kept uncertainties - and crude prices - high.

Investors have been punishing stocks of companies seen as under threat by AI so suddenly and aggressively that analysts have likened it to a “shoot first-ask questions later” mentality. The doubts are hurting not just companies seen as potential victims of AI but also the private-credit companies that have lent them money.

U.S. stock indexes are drifting lower on Thursday, while oil prices rise with worries about a potential conflict between the United States and Iran. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and was potentially heading for its first loss in four days.

Traders are assessing the possibility that the U.S. would attack Iran, and are considering the disruption that could cause to markets.

Global stock markets rose Wednesday as traders assessed company earnings and economic data, while oil prices surged more than four percent on a toughening US posture towards Iran.