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Nasdaq jumps 1% as Dow slides: What’s driving it?

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The split session saw semiconductor and growth stocks lead a recovery, while broad weakness across non-tech sectors dragged on traditional blue-chip averages. Although select mega-cap firms pushed the broader market into modest gains, Apple's slump compounded pressures on industrial and financial shares. Additionally, an unexpectedly strong October employment report triggered investor concern over another impending interest rate hike.

Key points

  • The S&P 500 managed to close higher by 0.29% despite sharp sector divergences.: The S&P 500 managed to close higher by 0.29% despite sharp sector divergences.
  • Revisions added 84,000 jobs to previous payroll figures, compounding fears of a December…: Revisions added 84,000 jobs to previous payroll figures, compounding fears of a December Federal Reserve rate hike.
  • Apple shares fell 0.94% to $340.93, acting as a major drag on the Dow alongside healthcar…: Apple shares fell 0.94% to $340.93, acting as a major drag on the Dow alongside healthcare and financial stocks.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Nvidia has jumped 5.56%, while Apple is down 0.94%.

A stronger October jobs report, with 165,000 new jobs against expectations of around 70,000, has also raised concerns about another Federal Reserve rate hike in December.

US stock market today: Dow Jones falls 465 points, Nasdaq gains 248 points

The Nasdaq's recovery is largely driven by renewed buying in technology and semiconductor stocks. Investors returned to chipmakers after Thursday's sharp losses, when concerns about AI spending and data centre construction triggered a broad sell-off.The Nasdaq had fallen into correction territory on Thursday, losing more than 10% from its October record. Nvidia, Micron, AMD and SanDisk were among the stocks hit hardest. The VIX volatility index also surged 70% to 28, showing how quickly investor anxiety had increased.

Friday's gains suggest some investors are buying technology shares after the decline. However, the recovery is not broad enough to lift every major index.

The Dow Jones is down 0.90%, or 465.11 points, at 51,057.95. The index has greater exposure to traditional industrial, financial and healthcare companies. Weakness in some of these shares is…

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