U.S. stocks fell in early trading on Friday as cooling AI sentiment weighed on the tech sector and put the major indexes on track to post weekly losses.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down about 1.3% shortly after markets opened on Friday, while the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.5%. The major indexes posted big losses yesterday, with the Nasdaq dropping nearly 2% as chipmakers and other tech stocks came under pressure despite better-than-expected earnings reports from chip firms Qualcomm (QCOM) and Arm Holdings (ARM).
Normally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics would publish the October jobs report today, but that data is delayed by the government shutdown, now in its 38th day. Private data yesterday suggested the labor market remains precarious, with one report indicating private employers announced more than 150,000 layoffs in October, the highest total for that month in more than two decades.
Investors are watching jobs data closely as they try to predict the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates. With evidence mounting that the labor market is steadily weakening, Wall Street is increasingly confident the Fed will cut interest rates for a third time this year next month.
Tesla (TSLA) stock was down about 3% Friday after investors greenlit a proposed pay package for CEO Elon Musk that will be worth $1 trillion if the company and its stock hit ambitious performance goals. Big tech stocks were mostly lower on Friday, with Nvidia (NVDA) dropping 2% and Alphabet (GOOG) declining about 1.5%. Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Apple (AAPL) were all marginally lower, while Microsoft (MSFT) ticked higher.
Shares of Block (XYZ) slumped 12% after the fintech company missed third-quarter earnings estimates. Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) also slumped after earnings, with its shares dropping 4% after the video game maker again postponed the release of “Grand Theft Auto VI.”
Constellation Energy Corp. (CEG) fell 3% in early trading after the nuclear power provider’s third-quarter earnings fell short of estimates. High-flying nuclear peers NuScale Power (SMR) and Vistra (VST) were also lower in early trading.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences interest rates on consumer loans like mortgages, was recently at 4.1%, up slightly from 4.09% at yesterday’s close. Gold futures were up 0.5% at about $4,010 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were up 0.9% at $59.95 a barrel.
Bitcoin recently traded around $100,000, off an overnight high of more $102,000. The leading cryptocurrency’s price fell below $100,000 for the first time since June earlier this week. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.2% at 99.55.