Wall Street Recovers as AI Stocks Bounce Back After Election Slump
Wall Street staged a partial recovery on Friday as artificial intelligence stocks rebounded from steep weekly losses, though broader markets remained mixed following the US midterm elections. ABC Nyheter reported that the S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent by Friday’s close, trimming its deficit for the week to 2.3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2 percent late in the session, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4 percent.
The relative calm on US trading floors halted what initially threatened to be a broader global sell-off in artificial intelligence equities. European indices, which feature fewer technology-heavy constituents, absorbed smaller impacts; Germany’s DAX index declined 1.9 percent.
Nvidia Leads S&P 500 Rebound
Nvidia anchored the recovery on the S&P 500, with its shares climbing 3.6 percent on Friday. The advance followed consecutive drops of 9.3 percent and 3.2 percent earlier in the week. NRK reported that the chipmaker had previously fallen nearly 10 percent during Thursday’s market drop.
Market analysts tied the broader technology sector turbulence directly to political shifts in Washington. Olav Chen, head of allocation and global rates at Storebrand, told NRK that the global market correction stemmed from fallout over the US midterm elections. Investors expressed concern that Democrats, who secured major gains in the vote, would pursue stricter regulations on artificial intelligence development, with particular focus on expanding data centers.
E24 noted that the Norway Government Pension Fund Global, heavily weighted in technology holdings, faced significant valuation shifts amid the volatility. Over a little more than a month, the Norwegian oil fund has fallen by over 1,100 billion kroner to around 20,900 billion kroner, down from 22,014 billion kroner at the end of September.
Strong US Employment Data Counters Growth Fears
Adding economic context to the trading week, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released figures showing the economy added 165,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in October. The total surpassed consensus expectations, which had anticipated roughly 65,000 new positions following a gain of 60,000 jobs in September.
Kyrre Knudsen, chief economist at SpareBank 1 Sør-Norge, told NRK that the employment report demonstrated continued resilience within the American economy. While the strong labor figures eased fears of an immediate economic slowdown following the midterms, Knudsen observed that there has been market worry that the American economy could weaken after the midterm election, but noted that these figures indicate it is still going well in the US, while pointing out that the strong data could talk for an interest rate hike in the US and isolated pull Norwegian interest rates up as well.
Technology Sector Performance Across the Board
E24 reported varying trajectories among major technology equities amid the market swings. Nvidia peaked with a gain of around 28 percent for the year in early October, but stood down nearly 3 percent for the year. Apple peaked with a rise of 28 percent the previous week and remained up 26 percent for the year. Alphabet, the owner of Google, peaked with a 28 percent gain for the year in May, but traded down nearly 10 percent for the year. Microsoft was up nearly 15 percent for the year earlier in the week, and following Thursday’s drop remained up close to 11 percent for the year. Amazon peaked with an increase of around 23 percent in August and stayed up 12 percent for the year. Tesla shares experienced high volatility, pointing downward for most of 2026, and after Thursday’s fall stood down 23 percent so far in the year. Meta peaked with an 18 percent gain for the year in late September, but moderated significantly to stand down 8 percent so far in 2026.
Whether upcoming legislative agendas will target data center expansion directly is still unclear as policy debates take shape in Washington.