WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, regaining ground following the sell-off seen in the previous sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has shown a significant rebound after seeing its steepest drop in well over a year.
Currently, the Nasdaq is off its highs of the session but still up 341.77 points or 1.4 percent at 24,656.77. The S&P 500 is also up 56.43 points or 0.8 percent at 7,410.16, although the narrower Dow has bucked the uptrend and edged down 11.51 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 51,511.55.
The rebound on Wall Street largely reflects bargain hunting following the substantial pullback seen during Thursday's session.
The tech-led sell-off dragged the Nasdaq down to its lowest closing level in over six months, while the S&P 500 plunged to a three-month closing low.
Semiconductor stocks have helped lead the way back to the upside, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index spiking by 4.4 percent following the 12.3 percent nosedive seen on Thursday.
Substantial strength is also visible among networking stock, as reflected by the 4.2 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Outside of the tech sector, oil service stocks are soaring following recent weakness, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.1 percent.
Gold, airline and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, while housing stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
In U.S. economic news, a closely watched report released by the Labor Department showed employment in the U.S. increased by far more than anticipated in the month of October.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment jumped by 165,000 jobs in October compared to economist estimates for the addition of 62,000 jobs.
The report also showed employment surged by an upwardly revised 186,000 jobs in August and climbed by an upwardly revised 60,000 jobs in September, reflecting a net upward revision of 84,000 jobs.
The report also said the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 percent in October from 4.2 percent in September. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged.
'The latest jobs data suggest labor market conditions are tightening, and with inflation well above target, that adds to the case for a December rate hike,' said Michael Pearce, Chief U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics.
He added, 'However, given most of the core inflation overshoot we expect is tied to spillovers from higher energy prices and AI-related pressures, continued falls in tech stocks and oil prices could eliminate the prospect of an additional hike in early 2027.'
Meanwhile, preliminary data released by the University of Michigan showed an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment in the month of November.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 51.0 in November from 48.0 in October. Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dove by 6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.1 percent.
The major European markets have also shown notable moves to the downside. The German DAX Index is down by 2.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest weakness after trending higher over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 1.4 basis points at 4.851 percent.
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