NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes were little changed in choppy trading on Friday, as the blockbuster Nasdaq debut of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix capped losses in chip stocks that wavered at the end of a tumultuous week.
The artificial intelligence trade returned to the spotlight after SK Hynix opened 14 percent above its offering price at USD170 in a high-profile US listing. The memory-chip maker raised about USD26.5 billion on Thursday by selling American Depositary Receipts priced at USD149 each.
“The stock isn’t racing ahead because, remember, this is not an IPO. It’s a secondary offering of a company that’s been publicly traded for some time. As I said, it will facilitate US investors access to the stock, which is certainly good news for global holders,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.
Chipmakers have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this year’s AI-driven rally, fueled by expectations of heavy spending by hyperscalers. But concerns over stretched valuations and profit taking have recently injected volatility into the sector.
Semiconductor shares came under pressure on Friday. Micron Technology slipped 3 percent, giving back part of its 4.5 percent gain from the previous session, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index fell 0.8 percent.
Elsewhere, Meta Platforms rose 6.1 percent to its highest level since April, helping lift the communication services sector by 0.5 percent. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher.
Healthcare was the biggest drag on the benchmark index, led by a 10.6 percent drop in Moderna, which was on pace for its worst one-day decline in more than a year.
At 11:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110.06 points, or 0.21 percent, to 52,597.47, the S&P 500 gained 9.75 points, or 0.13 percent, to 7,553.35 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 5.36 points, or 0.02 percent, to 26,201.53.
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