On Thursday, the Nasdaq lost over six percent. On Friday, the uncertainty fades into the background. The low entry prices attract investors.
Dusseldorf. The mood among US investors is divided: On the one hand, the results of the US midterms and their impact on the government's future tech policy are unsettling investors.
On the other hand, sharply fallen prices always offer the opportunity to purchase or repurchase securities cheaply. The latter argument seemed to convince investors on Friday. The Nasdaq is rising again after the previous day's sell-off.
The Nasdaq technology exchange index is up 1.2 percent at 24,602 points.
The Nasdaq 100, which shows the 100 largest non-financial companies with the highest market capitalization, is also increasing again and is up 1.6 percent to 27,055 points.
The broader S&P 500 is trading slightly higher at 7,380 points.
The Dow Jones index of standard stocks fell by 0.9 percent to 51,043 points.
On Thursday, the US indices fell significantly, starting with the Nasdaq tech index, which lost over six percent at its peak. The last time he lost this much was in April 2025. In the US midterm elections on Wednesday, the Democrats regained the majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. Among other things, they campaigned to put the brakes on artificial intelligence (AI) and questioned the massive expansion of data centers in the USA. Skepticism has recently increased among the US population and there have been protests against it in many places.
At the same time, investors continue to worry about whether the massive investments in AI are really worth it. Even overall convincing quarterly figures from companies always cause skepticism - because of high AI investments.
The big sell-off in tech stocks was also reflected in the overall market. And not just in the USA, but also here. It is rare for the Dax to temporarily lose around two percent on Friday. The German leading index is less tech-heavy and has mostly remained relatively unaffected by major tech sell-offs in recent months. “The strong sell-off on Wall Street shows how quickly sectoral concerns can spill over into the overall market,” analyzes Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at capital.com.
Chip stocks were particularly affected on Thursday. The Philly Semiconductor Index fell double digits. On Friday, however, it was up 4.2 percent again.
US labor market data was surprisingly solid on Friday. Job growth in October was above expectations at 165,000 non-agricultural jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent. A robust US labor market supports interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). Because it has a dual mandate that includes full employment as well as stable prices. By raising interest rates, the Fed can prevent the US economy from overheating.
The Fed will meet again this year - in December. Then, according to the Fed watch tool CME, investors expect a second interest rate hike from the Fed with a 75 percent probability. This raised interest rates in September for the first time in three years to counteract the high inflation caused by the Iran war.
As a result of the conflict, energy prices had risen sharply and spread to other areas. Inflation rose to 3.7 percent in September. The key interest rate is in a range of 3.75 to 4 percent.
On Thursday, some analysts saw the interest rate hike in danger. If AI growth slows, it would also impact the US economy, they argued. And in that case, an interest rate increase before the turn of the year could put additional pressure on the economy. Recently, the gross domestic product of the USA has grown robustly. In the third quarter it rose by 3.4 percent on an annual basis. “The US consumer price index will now be crucial: It will show whether stock markets will stabilize or whether selling pressure will increase again,” writes Harthorn. US consumer prices for October will be published next Tuesday.
