The stock market finished a volatile week on a mostly lower note, with an afternoon retreat leaving the major averages near their session lows despite a rebound in semiconductor and other AI-related stocks. The S&P 500 (+0.3%) and Nasdaq Composite (+1.1%) held on to modest portions of their earlier gains, while the DJIA (-0.5%) finished lower. All three indices ended the week with sizable losses, underscoring the limited recovery from Thursday's steep selloff.

The information technology sector (+1.3%) led the market after plunging 7.3% yesterday, supported by a 4.2% rebound in the PHLX Semiconductor Index following its 12.3% decline on Thursday. NVIDIA (NVDA 186.64, +5.04, +2.78%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 449.04, +44.64, +11.04%) were among the standouts, while Lam Research (LRCX 200.44, +15.24, +8.23%) rallied after authorizing a $25 billion share repurchase program and declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share.

The rebound was helped by comments from Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa indicating that she does not oppose data centers outright, along with President Trump's reiterated support for their development. Still, semiconductor stocks recovered only a fraction of yesterday's losses and remained down sharply for the week.

Earnings provided some additional pockets of strength. Cloudflare (NET 268.75, +24.24, +9.91%) surged after reporting accelerating revenue growth and issuing upbeat Q4 guidance, while AppLovin (APP 391.22, +35.12, +9.86%) extended yesterday's post-earnings rally despite broader weakness among software stocks. Microchip (MCHP 58.35, -6.50, -10.02%), however, was a notable semiconductor laggard after its largely in-line quarterly guidance disappointed investors. Outside technology, Moderna (MRNA 254.19, +12.73, +5.27%) outperformed following an earnings beat and an increase to its FY26 revenue outlook.

The communication services sector (+0.5%) retained about half of its earlier advance, supported by a recovery in mega-cap names including Meta Platforms (META 610.15, +5.07, +0.84%) and Alphabet (GOOG 283.93, +2.19, +0.78%). The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF gained 1.1%, reflecting continued leadership from the market's largest growth stocks.

The consumer discretionary sector (+0.1%) also surrendered most of its earlier strength after trading more than 1.0% higher. Tesla (TSLA 358.22, +14.53, +4.23%) remained a standout following news that the company plans to wind down Cybertruck production around mid-2027 to expand Cybercab output, raising hopes for improved capital efficiency. Airbnb (ABNB 189.99, +19.86, +11.67%) was another notable gainer after topping earnings expectations and issuing stronger-than-expected Q4 revenue guidance.

The industrials sector (+0.1%) also eked out a gain, helped by a rebound in aerospace and defense stocks following yesterday's broad selling pressure. Participation weakened considerably as the session progressed, leaving just four S&P 500 sectors in positive territory.

The consumer staples sector (-1.2%) was the biggest laggard after outperforming during Thursday's selloff, while the financials (-0.7%) and real estate (-0.6%) sectors also underperformed. The S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (-0.5%) finished firmly lower, contrasting with the gain in its market-cap-weighted counterpart. The Russell 2000 (+0.9%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.6%) fared better, however, reflecting some resilience among smaller stocks.

The October employment report added another consideration for investors, showing stronger-than-expected payroll growth and wage gains alongside a decline in the unemployment rate. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly (2027 FOMC voter) subsequently indicated that further policy tightening will likely be necessary. The probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the December FOMC meeting rose to 79.1% from 66.9% yesterday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The CBOE Volatility Index fell 8.9% to 25.67, but remained well above the 20 mark and finished the week up 32%. Ultimately, today's rebound provided only limited relief following Thursday's broad selloff, with fading afternoon gains and persistent weekly losses highlighting the market's fragile footing heading into next week.

U.S. Treasuries finished the week on a lower note, but even with today's losses that were concentrated in shorter tenors, the complex recorded its fifth consecutive week of gains. The 2-year note yield settled up four basis points to 4.53% (+6 basis points this week), and the 10-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.86% (-7 basis points this week). 

• Russell 2000: +11.0% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +9.0% YTD
• S&P 500: +7.8% YTD
• DJIA: +6.7% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +5.8% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Oct Nonfarm Payrolls 165K (Briefing.com consensus 65K; Prior 60K revised from 29K)
• Oct Nonfarm Private Payrolls 159K (Briefing.com consensus 50K; Prior 78K revised from 46K)
• The October employment report left the market in a mixed state of emotion after its release. The good news is that the nonfarm payrolls increase of 165,000 was stronger than expected, the 4.1% unemployment rate was lower than expected, and the 0.4% increase in average hourly earnings was higher than expected. The bad news is that the 3.1% year-over-year growth in average hourly earnings is below the latest CPI and PCE inflation rates of 3.7% and 3.6%, respectively, so workers' wages are not keeping up with inflation.
  • The key takeaway from the report that is contributing to the mixed view surrounding it is that it was strong enough to keep a December rate hike by the Fed on the table.
• Oct Average Workweek 34.4 (Briefing.com consensus 34.4; Prior 34.4)
• The preliminary reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November increased to 51.0 (Briefing.com consensus: 47.2) from the final reading of 48.0 for October. In the same period a year ago, the index also stood at 51.0.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that cost-of-living concerns were the biggest issue weighing on consumer sentiment, which remains at depressed levels.
• Consumer credit increased by $27.8 bln in September (Briefing.com consensus $11.0 bln) while the August increase was revised down to $8.2 bln from $8.3 bln.