Technology and artificial intelligence stocks have begun to recover after a massive sell-off on Thursday wiped trillions of dollars from global markets. The Nasdaq Composite opened up 1.23% on Friday, reversing some of Thursday's 5.5% decline, while shares in firms hit hardest the previous day bounced back sharply in early trading. Nvidia, which shed hundreds of billions in market value on Thursday after its shares dropped more than 9%, rose more than 6% on Friday. SpaceX and Tesla shares, also battered on Thursday, climbed more than 7% and nearly 3% respectively.
The recovery came as stronger-than-expected US employment figures eased concerns about the broader economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said US employers added 165,000 new jobs in October, more than double what analysts had predicted. The unemployment rate eased to 4.1% from 4.2% in September, according to the BLS, which also noted the rate has stayed between 4.1% and 4.3% since March. Professional and business services led the gains with 70,000 new jobs, followed by healthcare with 42,000, while transportation, warehousing and manufacturing also saw job growth.
Thursday's sell-off had been driven partly by concerns that a Democrat election victory would lead to stricter rules on artificial intelligence development and data centres. The party won control of both houses of congress and key contests in states involved in the AI data centre race. However, US President Donald Trump reiterated on Friday his support for what he termed "super intelligence", saying only "foolish leadership" would reject the benefits they produce. Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton, said the jobs figures suggested the real economy remained resilient despite market worries. "The US economy is running hard which may mean the risks the markets are worrying about at the moment are not such a risk to the real economy as is being feared," he said.
The S&P 500 also opened slightly higher on Friday, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened marginally down. For UK investors with exposure to US technology stocks, the recovery suggests some stabilisation after the sharp losses earlier in the week.