US stocks rebound as Nasdaq climbs about 1.7% and Nvidia jumps over 5% after Thursday's rout

US stocks rebounded on Friday morning, with technology shares leading a partial recovery from Thursday's rout. Reuters reported that by about 10:21 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite was up about 1.7%, the S&P 500 had gained about 1% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was up about 4.6%; Nvidia rose about 5.6% and Micron about 5.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, opened more than 500 points lower as strong jobs data pushed bond yields higher.

Thursday's rout

Thursday was Wall Street's worst day in 19 months. The Nasdaq fell 5.5% in a single session, more than 10% below its recent high and into correction territory; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 12.2%, and the Dow dropped 1,833 points (3.44%) to 51,523.06. Nvidia fell more than 9%, its biggest one-day drop since January 2025, closing at $181.60, a seven-month low; AMD fell 17.26%, Micron 17% and Intel 10.33%. Roughly $2.3 trillion in US technology stock value was wiped out in the session, according to market reports. The sell-off was driven by worries over the sustainability of AI infrastructure spending, data-centre financing and tighter regulation, and by concern that Democratic control of both chambers after the midterms could bring tougher scrutiny of AI infrastructure.

Strong jobs data lifts rate-hike bets

The US Labor Department reported on Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October, far above the 65,000 economists had expected, while the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2%. After the release, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to about 4.88% and markets increased bets on a Federal Reserve rate rise in December, limiting the rally. Jefferies equity strategist Jane Gibbons told Reuters that Thursday's sell-off was "reactionary, not a fundamental reset".

A partial rebound

Despite Friday's bounce, chip stocks remain well below their recent peaks: the semiconductor index was still about 8% below Wednesday's close and about 10% under Tuesday's level of 10,600; Nvidia remained about 20% below its 52-week high of $243.37, and Micron 44% below its peak of $1,255. Investors now look to the Fed's December meeting and Nvidia's quarterly results call on November 17.

(File photo: the New York Stock Exchange trading floor.)