Shares in artificial intelligence and technology firms have recovered slightly from an enormous sell-off that wiped trillions of dollars off stock values.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index closed in positive territory following a market rout that began in the US on Thursday before spilling over to Asian and European markets into Friday.
Investors had been selling off tech shares in part due to concerns the Democrat victory in the midterm elections would mean slower artificial intelligence development.
However the latest US employment figures added to a mixed picture for American markets on Friday morning, with an unexpectedly strong 165,000 jobs added to the economy in September.
On Thursday, businesses closely linked to artificial intelligence development took a hammering on stock markets, particularly chip and semiconductor makers.
But the Nasdaq Composite bounced back slightly on Friday, ending the day up 1.1%, partly reversing some of its 5.5% fall.
The S&P 500, which tracks the share prices of the largest publicly-traded US companies, closed up 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat through the day before ending slightly down 0.4%.
Companies that lost hundreds of billions in market value recovered some ground on Friday, including Nvidia, SpaceX and Tesla.
However, stock markets in Asia and Europe fared worse.
The Kospi in South Korea closed down 6% on Friday, with shares in chipmaker SK Hynix plunging more than 10%. European markets also fell, with the main indexes in Germany, France and Spain ending the day down.
In the UK, the FTSE 100, which tracks the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange, declined 1.01%.
In addition to the recent market volatility, UK traders were also digesting the latest Bank of England decision to raise interest rates and the signal that another rate rise could be on the cards to curb rising prices.
'Market purgatory'
The market fluctuations also come after the sweeping Democrat victory in the midterm elections.
A number of Democrats campaigned for new rules and regulations for artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, and the party has since won control of both houses of congress as well as key contests in states that have been part of the AI data centre race.
US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his supported for what he calls "super intelligence", saying only "foolish leadership" would "say no to the riches they bring".
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.
