US MARKET CLOSE | Mixed Close as Chip Stocks Rebound, Microsoft Winds Down Oracle AI Computing Deal

U.S. stocks stabilized Friday with the three major indexes closing mixed. Dip-buying buoyed the market as chip stocks rebounded, offsetting concerns that the Federal Reserve will hike rates in December. The Dow fell 237.32 points, or 0.46%, to 51,285.73; the S&P 500 rose 23.13 points, or 0.31%, to 7,376.86; and the Nasdaq gained 264.42 points, or 1.09%, to 24,579.42, according to Sina Finance. Among the "Magnificent Seven," Tesla rose 4.23%, Nvidia gained 2.78%, Meta Platforms added 0.84%, Google rose 0.78%, Amazon fell 0.35%, Apple declined 0.52%, and Microsoft dropped 0.99%. Semiconductors led gains, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 4.21%. AMD surged over 11%, Intel over 7%, TSMC over 6%, and Qualcomm and ASML over 5%. Concerns over a potential slowdown in data center construction had hammered U.S. stocks on Thursday, wiping out $1 trillion in combined market value from the "Magnificent Seven" in a single day. Democratic lawmakers called for curbing data center expansion after sweeping elections. Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa said in an interview, "We will craft laws to protect Texans, and until those protections are in place, we need to stop data center construction." Chris Grisanti of MAI Capital Management said investor concerns may persist since Hinojosa and others will not take office until January, but he remained optimistic about AI, believing construction-related deals will eventually close. Friday's optimism was tempered by reports that Microsoft is gradually terminating its arrangement to rent AI computing power from Oracle, having fueled the "new cloud" boom through major contracts with CoreWeave, Nscale, and Nebius. Oil prices ticked higher, with December WTI crude rising 31 cents to $90.83 per barrel, up 0.34%, and January Brent up 3 cents to $98.32 per barrel, up 0.03%. The S&P 500 energy index posted a double-digit weekly decline. Investors also digested the latest nonfarm payroll report, which showed 165,000 jobs added in October, well above expectations. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, indicating labor market resilience. FedWatch data showed traders increased bets on a Fed rate hike as early as next month, with the December hike probability rising to 78% from 70%.