The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.2% on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped about 465 points. These moves came on the heels of a sharp sell-off in the previous session—the market’s worst single-day decline since April 2025—which pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory.
Sentiment was pressured by concerns that a Democratic sweep in Congress could lead to tighter regulation of the AI industry and reduced investment in the sector. This prospect drove investors out of technology and AI-related names and fueled a broader risk-off tone.
Still, dip-buying returned on Friday, helping to stem the sell-off, especially among major chipmakers. Technology was the strongest-performing sector, while consumer staples lagged. Nvidia climbed 5.9%, Broadcom rose 4.9%, Micron Technology gained 6.8% and AMD advanced 10.2%, while Tesla added 1.9%.
Separately, the latest jobs report signaled a still-robust labor market. For the week, the S&P 500 is down nearly 3%, the Dow about 0.5%, and the Nasdaq roughly 4.4%.
