US close: Tech stocks rebound after sell-off, Dow slips after jobs report

6th Nov 2026 23:46

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street finished mixed on Friday as technology stocks rebounded from the previous session's dramatic sell-off, although stronger-than-expected US employment figures raised concerns about the outlook for interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 51,285.73, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3% to 7,376.86 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 24,579.42.

Tech stocks were rebounding after a broad-based sell-off on Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling into correction territory to finish at its lowest in seven months.

After an initial rally following the mid-term elections on Wednesday, traders began to reassess the impact of a shift in political power in Washington amid expectations that the 'blue wave' will lead to tighter AI regulation and slow the development of data centres.

Despite Friday's partial recovery, all three benchmarks recorded weekly losses, with the Nasdaq dropping 3.4%, the S&P 500 declining 2.7% and the Dow shedding 0.9%.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said it was a "brutal week" for global equity markets, even after a slight rebound on Friday.

"The question everyone's now asking is whether Friday's jump in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq is the real deal or a dead cat bounce. Markets rarely travel in a straight line, up or down. Even market corrections have moments when share prices jump higher," Coatsworth said.

"While no-one knows what happens next, it's clear that we've just seen a significant shift in market sentiment. That implies volatility over the coming weeks if investors decide to rejig their portfolios."

Sentiment remained cautious after official figures showed that the US economy added considerably more jobs than expected in October, cementing the case for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Non-farm payrolls increased by 165,000, well ahead of consensus expectations for a 65,000 rise and more than double September's upwardly revised gain of 60,000.

September's initial estimate of 29,000 was revised up by 31,000, while August's figure was raised 53,000 to 186,000, meaning 84,000 jobs were added to two previously reported payroll figures.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%, against expectations for an unchanged reading, although the number of unemployed people remained broadly stable at 7.1m. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings increased by 0.4% month-on-month to $38.00, accelerating from September's 0.1% rise and exceeding forecasts of 0.3%.

"US Treasury yields are recovering from a two-month low as a much stronger-than-expected jobs report reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve may need to keep rates higher for longer," said Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at IG. The two-year US Treasury yield increased to 4.528% from 4.475%.

In corporate news, Under Armour dropped after it trimmed its full-year gross margin outlook as higher fuel and freight costs, inventory management actions and FX headwinds added to pressure on the athletic apparel group's turnaround efforts, despite a modest improvement to its earnings guidance.

Moderna surged after the US biotechnology company raised its full-year revenue forecast following stronger-than-expected third-quarter sales and a return to profit.

Quantum computing group IonQ was a high riser after raising its revenue outlook for the year, pointing to a top line of $505m-515m, comfortably ahead of the current $456m expected by analysts.

Chip manufacturer Microchip Technology sank as guidance for the current quarter disappointed, though others in the sector were rebounding after falls on Thursday, including Nvidia, AMD, Micron Technology and Marvell Technology.