ARAMCO said it signed agreements and memoranda of understanding with French firms with potential total value exceeding $3.7 billion.

Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson says a further sharp rise in oil prices is the biggest risk to U.S. equities and recommends using energy stocks to hedge portfolio risk. He warned higher oil could push yields up and ultimately force the Fed to act, noting Fed chair Kevin Warsh is seeking to return disinflation to target. "By then, more responsibility will fall on the Fed rather than the Treasury," he said. "We have no doubt the Fed will ultimately respond, but may not act before markets suffer additional volatility." Wilson recommends positioning in energy names as an oil hedge; Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp are both up more than 30% YTD, over twice the S&P 500's gain. He reiterated a preference for so‑called "high-quality stocks"—companies with more stable earnings, higher margins and stronger operating efficiency.

US equity sector rotation is ongoing and attracting fresh flows. Net fund flows to US equities remain negative and positioning models sit at the 40th percentile, but rising retail and institutional sentiment is supportive for large caps over the medium term. Rotation and liquidation continue between AI-vulnerable names and AI-core stocks; the shift from semis into software has slowed. Healthcare has emerged as the primary recipient of new demand—hedge fund exposure to US healthcare has not meaningfully recovered while healthcare ETFs show persistent inflows, leaving room for further improvement; European healthcare is also favored into quarter-end as hedge fund sentiment turns positive. Retailers are under pressure with hedge funds reinitiating shorts on global brand names. Metals and mining have rallied over the past month but positioning is not yet crowded. European banks have seen heavy hedge fund selling. JPMorgan Aug. 21 report