Tech stocks rebounded on Friday as investors bought the dip after a sell-off pushed the Nasdaq into correction territory.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rebounded more than 4%. The three major indices diverged, with the Dow falling nearly 0.5%. Nonfarm payrolls beat expectations, and medium- and long-term U.S. Treasury yields climbed back. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.67%.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 237.33 points, or 0.46%, to 51,285.73. The Nasdaq rebounded 1.09% to 24,579.42. The S&P 500 gained 0.31% to 7,376.86. All three major indices posted weekly losses, with the Nasdaq down 3.4%, the S&P 500 down 2.7%, and the Dow faring better with a 0.9% decline.

Notable Stock Movers

Among star tech names, gains and losses were mixed. Tesla rose 4.23%, Nvidia gained 2.78%, while Amazon, Apple and Microsoft closed lower.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index climbed 4.21%, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) surging 11.04%, and TSMC and Intel both rising more than 6%.

Memory chip names were mixed. Micron Technology gained more than 5%, SK Hynix and SanDisk rose more than 2%, while Seagate Technology and Western Digital fell more than 1%.

The optical communication sector was strong, with Coherent soaring 13.58%, Lumentum gaining 5.67%, and Corning rising 2.61%.

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.67%. Baidu gained 3.01%, NetEase rose 2.28%, JD.com and Alibaba both climbed more than 1%, while Pinduoduo fell 1.10%.

Market Overview

On the economic data front, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 165,000 in October, far better than the market expectation of 70,000. September's figure was revised up by 31,000 to 60,000, while August's was revised up by 53,000 to 186,000. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point month-on-month to 4.1%.

"This morning's report shows the labor market's foundation is slightly stronger than previously expected, giving the Fed no reason to continue standing pat," said Thomas Feltmate, senior economist at TD Economics.

Medium- and long-term U.S. Treasury yields moved higher. The two-year note, closely tied to rate expectations, rose 3.7 basis points to 4.51%. The benchmark 10-year yield jumped 3.2 basis points to 4.86%.

According to CME FedWatch data, the market now sees a 78% probability that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise the benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points in December, up from 67% on Thursday.

The Nasdaq Composite on Thursday recorded its largest single-day drop in 19 months, pushing the index into correction territory and marking its fourth consecutive weekly decline. On Thursday alone, the combined market capitalization of the "Magnificent Seven" stocks fell by $1 trillion.

The sell-off came after Democratic midterm election victories, including in some key data center states, raising concerns that AI data center construction could slow. Optimism about the sector's rapid growth had driven stocks to record highs this year.

"The magnitude of the declines in some of the market's largest stocks is quite striking. But it also highlights the concentration risk that has built up in U.S. equities," said Stuart Clark, portfolio manager at Quilter, in an email comment. "Given that relatively few tech and semiconductor stocks now carry such large weights, weakness in these names can quickly translate into significant declines for the Nasdaq and S&P 500."

"We still believe AI is the dominant theme of this bull market," said Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services. "We still assume technology is innocent." He believes this week's sell-off may offer many investors a longer-term buying opportunity.

On the Middle East front, according to CCTV News, U.S. President Trump said on November 6 local time that the United States is in communication with Iran. In addition, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the same day while attending an event in Oxford, England, that the U.S. and Iran had failed to reach a "comprehensive agreement." He stressed that both sides should accept a "good agreement" rather than pursue a "perfect agreement."

Commodities

Influenced by market expectations over the prospect of a U.S.-Iran war, the front-month NYMEX crude oil contract for December delivery rose 0.34% to $90.83 per barrel, posting a weekly decline of 12.76%. The front-month ICE Brent crude contract for January delivery rose 0.03% to $98.32 per barrel, falling 13.32% for the week, the largest drop since 2020.

Precious metals weakened, with the COMEX gold futures contract for November delivery falling 0.93% to $4,064.50 per ounce.