Stocks showed signs of life as U.S. financial markets opened on Friday, stabilizing after a steep selloff the previous day driven by concerns over a potential slowdown in data center construction.
In early trading, the S&P 500 climbed 72 points, or nearly 1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 437 points, or 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129 points, or 0.2%.
Markets soared immediately after the midterm elections earlier this week, but quickly reversed course on Thursday as investors assessed whether sweeping Democratic victories could lead to tighter restrictions on building data centers and weaker spending on artificial intelligence.
Tech stocks started to recover on Friday, helping pull the Nasdaq higher after a brutal beating on Thursday that caused the index to shed more than 1,400 points and enter a "correction," or when stocks fall at least 10% from their previous peak.
Chipmaker Nvidia — a bellwether for the AI sector — gained 6.6% in early trading, and semiconductor manufacturer Micron Technology rose 9.8%.
— This is a developing story and will be updated
