Wall Street Steadies Friday as Nvidia and Chip Stocks Rebound After Thursday’s Sell-Off
The Nasdaq rose 1.1% and the S&P 500 gained 0.3% as chip stocks recovered part of Thursday's steep losses, though both indexes still finished the week lower for a fourth straight week.
Stocks recovered some ground Friday after the market endured its worst day since the height of last year’s tariff-fueled sell-off, with chip stocks leading the rebound.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% and the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.3%, though both finished well off their session highs, according to Investopedia’s market coverage. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.5% after spending much of the morning in positive territory.
The bounce came a day after the Nasdaq fell more than 5% and recorded its biggest one-day point drop ever, while the Dow lost 1,800 points. The drop wiped out the gains posted in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s midterm elections and pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory, more than 10% below its recent peak. The sell-off had already spread through Asian markets, where Japan’s Nikkei fell 6% into a bear market. Read our earlier report on the Nikkei’s fall and the sell-off across Asia and Europe.
Chip stocks lead the recovery
The chip stocks that led Thursday’s drop were among the biggest gainers Friday. The iShares Semiconductor ETF rose 3.5% after plunging 12% the day before. Nvidia, the chip company at the center of the AI boom, climbed nearly 3% to pace Dow gainers, while Advanced Micro Devices soared 11%, Intel added 8% and Micron rose 5%.
Investopedia reported that the selling was driven by concern that AI development could slow, since Democrats will hold a large majority in Congress and serve as governors in states where data centers are being built. President Donald Trump said Friday that he was “100% in favor” of artificial intelligence, in a post on Truth Social, according to reports cited in market coverage.
Other stocks hit hard Thursday also advanced. SanDisk, which dropped 22% Thursday to lead S&P 500 decliners, gained 3.5%, while cloud provider Nebius jumped nearly 8%. SpaceX surged 9% after giving up 13% over the past two days, and Cloudflare climbed 10% after reporting strong results. Airbnb jumped 12% after raising its guidance, while health insurer Humana and biotech company Moderna each gained 5% after their earnings reports. DraftKings fell 21%.
Jobs data and the week in full
Investors were also watching the October jobs report, which showed hiring picked up last month while the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. The numbers will factor into the Federal Reserve’s decisions on interest rates, with traders expecting the central bank to raise its policy rate again in the coming months.
In other markets, WTI crude oil futures held steady around $90.50 per barrel, gold futures fell nearly 1% to $4,075 an ounce, and bitcoin traded at $75,800. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked higher to 4.86%.
Despite Friday’s gains, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted losses for the fourth consecutive week. The S&P 500 fell 2.7% for the week, its biggest decline since April 2025, the Nasdaq dropped 3.4%, and the Dow gave up 0.9%.
Reporting based on coverage by Investopedia.
