Stocks little changed as oil prices pause climb but yields still near highs

 Global bond yields hovered near multi-decade highs on Friday as high oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict stoked concerns about inflation and rate hikes, while U.S. and European shares found little relief from this week's lows.

News that the U.S. administration will impose higher tariffs on goods from 60 trading partners also did not help the inflation picture, with 30-year Treasury yields marching towards their highest since 2007 and German 10-year Bund yields - the benchmark for the euro zone - holding close to their highest since 2011.

Wall Street stocks were little changed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each about 0.1% higher. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1%, with a roughly 2% decline for shares of chipmaker Intel despite bumper results.

Tech stocks have been under pressure this week as investors grow increasingly uneasy about multi-billion-dollar spending on AI that has yet to yield conclusive evidence of paying off. 

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6% after a more than 1% drop in the last session, on pace for a mild weekly gain.

Brent crude slipped 2.83% to $97.84 a barrel, after surging 7% overnight to a two-month high of $102. Attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea risk choking off a second crucial Middle East artery for global oil supplies, alongside Iran's near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.