WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After initially extending the sharp pullback seen during Thursday's session, stocks showed a significant rebound over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session, with the Dow and the S&P 500 reaching positive territory.
The major averages ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq dipped 49.46 points or 0.2 percent to 23,004.54 after plunging by as much as 2.1 percent, the S&P 500 inched up 8.48 points or 0.1 percent to 6,278.80 and the Dow rose 74.80 points or 0.2 percent to 46,987.10.
For the week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq plummeted by 3.0, while the S&P 500 tumbled by 1.7 percent and the Dow slumped by 1.2 percent.
The recovery attempt seen in afternoon trading may have reflected optimism about an end to the prolonged government shutdown following an offer from top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer.
Schumer offered to provide Democratic support for passage of a short-term funding bill to reopen the government in exchange for Republican support for a one-year extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits.
In early trading, stocks extended yesterday's slump amid lingering concerns about valuations, as investors have recently expressed worries about an artificial intelligence bubble.
Valuation anxiety triggered a sell-off on Tuesday, with shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) plunging even though the software company reported better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results and raised its revenue guidance.
Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon and Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO Ted Pick also warned of a significant correction by the markets over the next one to two years.
After a rebound on Wednesday, valuation concerns resurfaced on Thursday despite a lack of major catalysts.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has deteriorated by much more than anticipated in the month of November.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index slid to 50.3 in November after falling to 53.6 in October. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 53.2.
With the much bigger than expected decrease, the consumer sentiment index dropped to its lowest level since hitting a record low of 50.0 in June 2022.
Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu noted consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative economic consequences of the U.S. government shutdown as the stalemate drags on for over a month.
Sector News
Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading session, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 3.2 percent after plunging by as much as 3.0 percent.
Significant strength also emerged among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The strength in the sector came as the price of gold climbed back above the $4,000 an ounce level.
Natural gas airline and commercial real state stocks also showed strong moves to the upside on the day, while weakness remained visible among networking and semiconductor stocks.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 slumped dove by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.9 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries pulled back near the unchanged line after initially extending yesterday's rally. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, closed unchanged at 4.093 percent after hitting a low of 4.066 percent.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News