U.S. stocks recovered Friday after four consecutive losing sessions as crude oil retreated from above $100 a barrel, although an August inflation report lifted market-implied odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase at the Sept. 15-16 meeting from roughly 70% to around 90%. Iranian state media said Tehran would meet Gulf states in Oman next week to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, removing part of the war premium from crude. West Texas Intermediate fell 3.0% to $99.36 a barrel, while Brent dropped 3.0% to $104.41. WTI still gained 8.6% for the week and more than 19% over the past month, and AAA said U.S. diesel prices reached a record $6.05 a gallon. Headline consumer prices rose 0.4% month-on-month in August, with gasoline up 3.9% and accounting for more than a third of the increase. Core CPI (consumer inflation excluding food and energy) rose 0.3%, above the 0.2% consensus and the fastest increase since April, while the annual core rate eased to a five-year low of 2.4%. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 each advanced 1.1%, while the Russell 2000 gained 0.7%. Technology led the equity rebound, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF up 2.0%. Oracle's plan to spend $90 billion to $95 billion on capital expenditure this fiscal year supported AI infrastructure stocks, lifting Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Super Micro Computer and Vicor. Skyworks Solutions rose after its CEO said the company's $22 billion merger with Qorvo was in its final stages and should close by year-end. Nuclear-related stocks led declines after Oklo disclosed plans to sell up to $1 billion of Class A common stock, while Chewy, SailPoint and AeroVironment also fell. Gold rose 1.3% to $4,374.67 an ounce, and the CBOE Volatility Index fell 11.7% to 15.75.