US markets today: Wall Street steadies after sharp reversal; AI stocks remain volatile as Bitcoin slump deepens
Equities found support after an influential Federal Reserve official signalled possible backing for interest rate cuts in December.
Among major technology stocks, Nvidia slipped slightly while Alphabet traded higher.
Treasury yields declined, while cryptocurrency prices continued to fall.The update comes after futures swung sharply earlier in the day.
Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent and the Dow gained 0.6 per cent, while Nasdaq futures inched up 0.2 per cent after an overnight dip.
The Nasdaq remains on track for its worst week since former President Donald Trump announced tariff changes in April.Nvidia briefly erased a 1.4 per cent overnight fall, closing near Thursday’s levels as concerns over a potential artificial intelligence bubble persisted.
The chipmaker recently reported strong summer profits and a revenue forecast above Wall Street expectations.Bitcoin continued its slide, nearly falling below $80,000 before recovering to around $83,700 early Friday.
The cryptocurrency is down 34 per cent from its early-October peak near $126,000.Retailers Ross Stores and Gap reported better-than-expected sales and profit, with Gap jumping more than 6 per cent before the bell and Ross gaining 2.8 per cent.European markets were mixed, with Germany’s DAX down 0.4 per cent, while Britain’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 were flat around midday.In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.4 per cent to 48,625.88 after the government approved a 21.3 trillion yen stimulus package.
Concerns about rising national debt pushed Japanese government bond yields higher, with the 30-year benchmark touching 3.37 per cent.
Core inflation excluding food rose to 3 per cent in October, up from 2.9 per cent in September.Japan reported a rise in overall exports for October, though shipments to the US declined due to higher tariffs.
Technology stocks led the sell-off, with Advantest falling 12.1 per cent and Tokyo Electron down 7.1 per cent.South Korea’s Kospi fell 3.8 per cent to 3,853.26, with Samsung Electronics slipping 5.8 per cent and SK Hynix plunging 8.8 per cent.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 2.4 per cent to 25,220.02 and the Shanghai Composite fell nearly 2.5 per cent to 3,834.89 amid tensions between China and Japan over Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.6 per cent as TSMC fell 4.8 per cent.“What began as a textbook ‘Nvidia bounce’ flipped into one of the most violent intraday reversals since the April dump, and Asia — ever the obedient understudy — marched directly into the same plunge tank on the open,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.US crude oil dropped 45 cents to $58.45 per barrel, while Brent slipped 33 cents to $63.05.
