US stocks closed higher on Friday, led by tech gains, with the Nasdaq rising over 300 points. The AI sector attempted to regain momentum after recent volatility, driven by Oracle.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 183.04 points, or 0.38%, to close at 48,134.89. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 301.26 points, or 1.31%, to 23,307.62, while the S&P 500 gained 59.82 points, or 0.88%, ending at 6,834.58. For the week, the three major indices showed mixed performance: the Dow fell 0.67%, the Nasdaq rose 0.48%, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.11%.
Software giant Oracle surged 6.87% after TikTok agreed to sell its US operations to a new joint venture formed by Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and others. According to an internal memo, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance signed binding agreements with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX to establish "TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC."
The rally marked a reversal for Oracle, which had faced pressure earlier in the week after reports that the cloud infrastructure company lost a key backer for a data center project due to concerns over its debt levels and AI spending. This also weighed on other AI-related stocks, including Broadcom and AMD.
AI chip leader Nvidia rose over 3% as Reuters reported the Trump administration is reviewing the company’s potential sales of advanced AI chips to China. Earlier this month, President Trump stated he would allow Nvidia to ship its H200 AI chips to "approved customers" in China.
Micron Technology extended gains, rising over 7% after Thursday’s 10% surge, as the company provided strong revenue guidance for the quarter, boosting investor confidence amid broader AI sector concerns.
Tom Garretson, Senior Portfolio Strategist at RBC Wealth Management, noted: "The massive debt issuance by hyperscale data center operators and AI-related trades could pressure markets, potentially through 2026. However, these companies are among the highest-rated in credit quality and clearly capable of financing these projects through increased debt."
He added: "We still expect some capital expenditures to support broader, possibly stronger growth."
Friday’s session saw heightened volatility due to "quadruple witching," the simultaneous expiration of four types of options contracts. Goldman Sachs reported over $7.1 trillion in notional value of options expired, marking the largest single-day expiration on record.
Nike was among the day’s biggest decliners, dropping about 11% after the sportswear giant reported weaker revenue in Greater China for its fiscal second quarter. The company also cited tariff hikes as a headwind, noting negative impacts on gross margins.
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