Nasdaq gains: AI stocks recover from price carnage

The price slide for AI values ​​has ended. Before the weekend, bargain hunters take advantage of their chance and buy from chip manufacturers, among others. The latest labor market report caused astonishment on Wall Street.

After the recent price losses, bargain hunters on Wall Street primarily snapped up technology stocks on Friday. While the technology-heavy Nasdaq and the broad S&P 500 rose, the leading index Dow Jones fell. The index of standard stocks closed 0.5 percent lower at 51,286 points. The S&P 500, on the other hand, advanced by 0.3 percent to 7,377 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.1 percent to 24,579 points.

Investors' buying list included in particular papers from the field of artificial intelligence (AI), which had been heavily sold the day before. The results of the US midterm elections triggered heavy selling in AI stocks this week. US President Donald Trump is a supporter of AI, while many US citizens are skeptical about the expansion of the technology. In addition to concerns about jobs, it is above all the construction of water- and energy-hungry data centers that is causing resistance to AI to grow.

Many traders have now taken advantage of the sharp price drop of the last few days to get back into trading. Shares of semiconductor companies recovered. Nvidia increased by 3.6 percent, Advanced Micro Devices by 9.9 and Intel by 7.4 percent. Tesla and SpaceX were also in demand again after Thursday's share price fall. “We continue to believe that AI is the dominant theme in this bull market,” said Keith Lerner, head of investments at Truist Advisory Services. The recent selloff likely presents many investors with a longer-term buying opportunity.

Atlassian and Airbnb were also in focus when it came to individual stocks. Shares of software company Atlassian fell after reporting first-quarter results. The shares of the vacation rental platform Airbnb, on the other hand, rose by 11.4 percent after the group raised its forecast for sales growth for the full year 2026.

A surprisingly strong US labor market report provided something to talk about. More jobs were created in October than expected and the unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent. This fueled speculation that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) would soon raise interest rates. According to LSEG data, traders now put the probability of a rate hike in December at 78 percent, up from 70 percent previously. “These are strong numbers,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. However, he expressed doubts about whether the Fed would want to raise interest rates amid choppy markets.