Wall Street Rebounds as Chip Stocks Recover From Election-Fueled AI Rout

U.S. stocks stabilized Friday after a sharp selloff tied to concerns that the Democrats’ midterm-election gains could slow the expansion of AI data centers. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, according to The Associated Press.

The rebound followed a punishing prior session in which the Nasdaq 100 dropped 6.3% and erased $2.3 trillion in market value, The Charlotte Observer reported. Investors were reassessing whether political opposition to data-center projects could constrain the infrastructure spending underpinning the AI trade.

Chip Stocks Lead the Bounce

Semiconductor shares recovered part of Thursday’s losses. Nvidia rose nearly 3% after a 9% decline in the previous session, while Micron Technology gained 5% after falling 17% Thursday, CNBC reported. Intel jumped nearly 6% after a 10% slide, and AMD rebounded 8% after dropping 17%, according to Yahoo Finance.

The recovery did not erase the week’s damage. The S&P 500 fell 2.7% for the week, its largest weekly decline since April 2025, while the Nasdaq remained in correction territory, Investopedia reported.

Jobs Data Offers Counterweight

A stronger-than-expected employment report helped steady sentiment. The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in October, compared with economists’ expectation of 59,000, Yahoo Finance reported. Treasury yields held firmer after the data, according to the AP.

Other earnings-driven movers included Cloudflare, which climbed 10%, Airbnb, which gained 12% after raising its guidance, and DraftKings, which plunged 21%, Investopedia reported.

What to watch

Investors will watch whether chip stocks can extend Friday’s rebound, whether political resistance to AI infrastructure becomes a sustained earnings and capital-spending concern, and how markets digest the employment data alongside the week’s steep technology losses.