NEW YORK: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained in choppy trading on Friday, reversing course after a brief sell-off in technology stocks, while hawkish comments from Federal Reserve policymakers deepened doubts of an interest rate cut in December.
Wall Street’s main indexes had lost more than 1 percent each earlier in the session over worries about stretched AI stock valuations, which have weighed on markets this week. However, investors saw it as an opportunity to buy expensive stocks at relatively cheaper prices.
“This week is a tug-of-war between increased concern over the durability of the AI story against the buy the dip instinct,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
At 12:02 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 151.64 points, or 0.32 percent, to 47,305.58, the S&P 500 gained 25.43 points, or 0.38 percent, to 6,763.11 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 155.46 points, or 0.68 percent, to 23,025.81.
The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, touched a one-week high earlier and was last down 0.13 points at 19.83.
S&P 500 tech stocks rose 1.3 percent, with AI bellwether Nvidia up 1.7 percent after dropping more than 3 percent in early trading.
Nvidia’s results next week could further make or break the stock’s rally, which has been the main driver behind indexes hitting all-time record highs this year.
Other chip stocks were also higher, with Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom up about 1.2 percent each. The broader semiconductor index gained 1.1 percent.
Financial stocks such as Goldman Sachs and American Express bogged down the Dow.
Some concerns also lingered around the health of the labor market and the inflation outlook, as markets expect some permanent data gaps despite a resolution on Thursday to the historic US government shutdown.
On the trade front, the Swiss government said US tariffs on Swiss goods will be reduced to 15 percent from 39 percent.
The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and 8 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 39 new highs and 255 new lows.
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