Nasdaq rallies as chip stocks recover from steep losses
Strong October jobs data also lifted markets, with the Nasdaq ending up 1.1% after briefly trading 2% higher.
The Nasdaq Composite rose on Friday, recovering from a sell-off in artificial intelligence stocks that had pushed the index into correction territory the previous session. The tech-heavy index gained 1.09%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 237.33 points, or 0.46%, to 51,285.73. The S&P 500 rose 0.31%. The semiconductor index jumped 4.2%. Nvidia rose 2.8%, Advanced Micro Devices added 11% and Sandisk rebounded almost 4%. Tesla rose 4.2% and SpaceX gained 8.6%. Software firm Atlassian fell 16% after first-quarter results, while Airbnb climbed 12% after raising its full-year 2026 revenue growth forecast. Thursday's drop followed investor concerns about what Democrats' midterm election wins could mean for AI regulation and data center development. Analysts said markets were pricing in the midterm results after stocks had risen the day before.
U.S. payrolls data showed the economy added 165,000 jobs in October, well above economists' estimate of 65,000. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, said more industries are hiring, though wages remain below inflation even though wage growth beat expectations in October.
Key points
- Nasdaq rose 1.09% after entering correction the prior session
- Semiconductor index gained 4.2%; AMD rose 11%
- U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October; unemployment at 4.1%
- Wages still trail inflation, though wage growth beat expectations
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Summarized with AI from the sources above and reviewed before publishing.
