BUZZ-US stocks weekly: "R-oil-ed"

** S&P 500 .SPX tumbles 2% as Middle East mayhem sparks spike in oil prices, convulses global economies and markets .N

** Dow .DJI drops 3%, Nasdaq Composite .IXIC slips 1.2%

** Indeed, amid the Middle East conflict, U.S. stock futures slid to start the week

** And with growth stocks coming up lame investors play defense

** VIX spikes, S&P 500 slides as conflict fuels uncertainty

** U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR ascends 18 basis points to around 4.14%, its biggest weekly increase since early Apr 2025. War in Iran fans inflation jitters, while a weak jobs report muddies the picture US/

** Nearly every sector battered: Materials rattled most, while just Energy sees green

** Materials .SPLRCM melt 7.2%. Copper miners such as Freeport-McMoRan FCX.N flop as prices fall on rising LME (London Metal Exchange) inventories as Mideast war intensifies

Gold miners including Newmont NEM.N drop as rising yields, strong dollar overshadow safe-haven demand

ARCA Gold BUGS index .HUI plummets 11.7% for largest weekly decline since Jun 2021

** Consumer Staples .SPLRCS plunge 4.9%. Sector declines as Middle East conflict raises concerns of fresh inflation pressures that could complicate the Fed's policy decisions

Costco COST.O rises on Fri after holiday quarter beat, signals price cuts if tariff refunds materialize; stock ends week down >1%

A bright spot, Target TGT.N rises after upbeat same-store sales outlook, new CEO flags turnaround

** Industrials .SPLRCI weaken 4.1%. Airline shares drop as Mideast escalation triggers flight chaos, oil spike, extend declines as crude prices stretch gains

NYSE Arca Airline index .XAL descends 14.5%

However, defense stocks including Lockheed Martin LMT.N, RTX RTX.N and Northrop Grumman NOC.N climb as US-Iran tensions flare, and advance on Fri as Middle East war intensifies

** Communication Services .SPLRCL retreat 2.1%. Conversely, Trade Desk TTD.O scores 23% weekly gain after report OpenAI held early talks with co to sell ads

** Financials .SPSY fade 1.8%. Berkshire Hathaway BRKb.N shares slide on Mon on lower Q4 profit, hurt by lower insurance income, Occidental Petroleum OXY.N writedown, stock rises on Thurs after it resumes buybacks and CEO Greg Abel discloses purchases for himself. Still, stock finishes week down 1%

BlackRock BLK.N falls as its flagship private credit fund limits redemptions, weighs on alternative asset manager peers

For the week, S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK sheds ~3%, KBW regional banking index .KRX stumbles 2.7%

On the flip side, Coinbase COIN.O, Robinhood HOOD.O rally as bitcoin bounds above $70,000

** Consumer Discretionary .SPLRCD down 1.4%. Travel-related names like Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N and Carnival Corp CCL.N sink amid Mideast escalation

** Tech .SPLRCT ticks down 0.4%. Broadcom AVGO.O leaps on strong AI chip rev outlook and new $10 bln buyback program

Still, Semiconductor index .SOX dives >7%

Palantir PLTR.O joins defense stock rally, and beaten down software shares including Salesforce CRM.N, Intuit INTU.O and AppLovin APP.O rebound as markets sell off

** Energy .SPNY up 1%. Group jumps after Middle East conflict drives oil surge, and some stocks rise on Fri as Brent crude hits $90/barrel for first time since Apr 2024

US benchmark crude CLc1 skyrockets ~36% for record weekly rise

** Meanwhile, Bulls, bears back down; neutral stock sentiment steps forward - AAII

** SPX performance YTD:

(Lance Tupper and Terence Gabriel are Reuters market analysts. The views expressed are their own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com ; terence.gabriel@tr.com))