Wall Street bounces back, led by chip stocks; Nvidia gains 3%, Broadcom surges 4.8%, Amazon plunges 9%

Major US stock indices bounced back on Friday, led by chip companies following sharp selloff this week on artificial intelligence spending worries.

Investors doubts regarding artificial intelligence expenditure have intensified since Microsoft's massive capital plans in late January pushed large-cap spending totals into focus.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 rose 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher.

At the open, the S&P 500 jumped rose 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite soared 0.8%.

“The performance of tech is likely to determine if this early bounce in the broader market can hold,” said Tom Essaye at The Sevens Report, according to Bloomberg.

“If tech stocks can hold early gains and add to them, then we could see a solid bounce across markets. However, if they roll over, brace for another potentially ugly day,” said Essaye.

On the economic data front, a preliminary report from the University of Michigan showed sentiment among consumers improving slightly.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury erased an earlier modest loss and was holding steady at 4.21%.

Key Stock Movers

Amazon shares plunged around 9% on worries about artificial intelligence spending. On Thursday, the company announced its plans to spend about $200 billion in 2026 as it builds up AI capacities.

Among megacap stocks, Google parent Alphabet slipped 0.7%, Microsoft rose 1%, and AI chip giant Nvidia gained 3%.

Chipmaker Broadcom surged 4.8%.

Roblox stock rose more than 5% after the video game company forecast fiscal 2026 bookings above Wall Street expectations.

Molina Healthcare shares sank 29% after the health insurer projected 2026 profit at less than half of analyst expectations.

Centene stock fell 6.2% despite the firm forecast annual profit above estimates.

Crypto stocks advanced on recovery in bitcoin, with Coinbase Global rising 7.3%, Strategy soared 15.9%, and Robinhood Markets jumped 11.7%.

Bullion Market

Gold prices recovered on Friday on a weaker US dollar.

At 09:31 a.m. ET (1431 GMT), spot gold rose 3.1% to $4,916.98 per ounce. US gold futures for April delivery gained 1% to $4,939.70 per ounce.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 5.3% to $74.98 an ounce after dipping below $65 earlier. Spot platinum added 3.2% to $2,052 per ounce, and palladium gained 4.9% to $1,695.18.

Crude Oil

Oil prices fell in a choppy session on Friday, after Iran said nuclear talks with the US in Oman were good and that the two sides agreed to continue negotiations.

Brent crude futures fell 55 cents, or 0.8%, to $67.00 a barrel by 1410 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 60 cents, or 1%, at $62.69 a barrel.