The major averages followed a Wednesday rally with a volatile Thursday that left the S&P 500 (-0.4%), Nasdaq (-0.4%), and Dow (-0.4%) with modest losses while the Russell 2000 (-1.7%) underperformed. The S&P 500 briefly overcame its lower start, making a run at its 50-day moving average (7671), before succumbing to renewed pressure that left the index in negative territory.

The trading day started with a weak showing from the technology sector (-0.4%), where NVIDIA (NVDA 166.19, -7.54, -4.34%) was down more than 14.0% at the open after CEO Huang resigned in the wake of a New York Times report about Mr. Huang's second extramarital affair, this time within the company. The sharp starting loss sent the stock to a level not seen since July 2025, but a chunk of that loss was reclaimed quickly, followed by an extension of the rebound as the day went on.

NVIDIA's early weakness knocked down the major averages, but they did not go down without a fight, making a brief late-morning appearance in positive territory before renewed selling forced them back into negative territory.

The performance of the technology sector guided the market's overall direction throughout the day, but the group finished near the middle of the pack while financials (-0.7%) health care (-0.7%), industrials (-0.9%), and materials (-1.5%) recorded wider losses.

The AI trade did not move uniformly lower. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 585.30, +32.40, +5.86%) and Broadcom (AVGO 364.36, +19.14, +5.54%) attracted interest as potential beneficiaries of a competitive opening, while Alphabet's (GOOG 295.35, +4.72, +1.62%) internally developed TPU platform offered another alternative to NVIDIA hardware. That relative strength helped technology recover from its early shock, but it was not enough to sustain the broader market's rebound into the close.

Alphabet's strength helped the communication services sector (+0.4%) finish in positive territory while energy (+1.5%) was the only other group that ended higher. WTI crude rose 2.8% to $88.79/bbl, reversing an early decline amid competing speculation about a diplomatic solution to the Iran conflict or additional military action.

The market also had to contend with growing expectations for a 50-basis point rate hike in December, which kept Treasuries under daylong pressure after Wednesday's closure. The 2-yr yield rose 14 basis points to 4.88%, just eight basis points shy of its 2026 high from September, while the 10-yr yield climbed 12 basis points to 5.10%, rising back above its 50-day moving average (5.051%).

The failed rebound was the defining feature of the close. NVIDIA's leadership shock remained the central company event, but rising rate expectations and a renewed rise in the price of oil broadened the market's concerns beyond one stock.

• Russell 2000 +12.8% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400 +11.5% YTD
• S&P 500 +10.9% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite +9.1% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +8.8% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly Initial Claims 200K vs. 195K Briefing.com consensus; prior revised to 191K from 189K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1697K; prior 1718K
• October Existing Home Sales 3.75M vs. 3.94M Briefing.com consensus; prior revised to 3.97M from 3.99M
• 11/07 EIA Crude Oil Inventories +4.657M; prior -0.865M
• October Treasury Budget -$404.0B vs. -$300.0B Briefing.com consensus; prior -$26.9B

Friday's economic calendar:

• 8:30 AM ET: October PPI; Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 1.3%
• 8:30 AM ET: October Core PPI; Briefing.com consensus 0.3%; prior 0.7%
• 10:30 AM ET: 11/07 EIA Natural Gas Inventories; prior +77 bcf