US stocks reel after Nvidia’s results and mixed jobs data. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq staged a sharp early rally then closed deeply lower, reflecting renewed doubts about tech and artificial intelligence spending. In the short term, volatility is reshaping positioning ahead of a holiday week and a raft of economic flash data. Over the long term, questions about whether heavy AI infrastructure investment will translate into sustainable profits are now louder. Globally, Asian markets held gains while Europe posted modest advances. The moves matter for the US, for euro zone rates, and for Asian chip demand, and they echo prior episodes when markets corrected after big tech rallies.
Market snapshot
Historic intraday reversal leaves traders reassessing risk
Wall Street opened sharply higher, only to finish the day firmly in the red. The S&P 500 swung from an almost 2 percent gain to a 1.6 percent loss. The Nasdaq ended down 2.2 percent. The VIX closed at its highest level since April. That is a notable pick up in volatility for a market that sits roughly 5 percent below its late October peak.
Analysts point out that such a reversal has been rare outside of major stress episodes. The market has limited room to absorb shocks right now compared with periods that sat 20 percent below highs. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed around their 100 day moving averages. That technical footing raises the prospect of more active rebalancing in the near term.
Sector action confirmed a risk-off tone. US tech led losses, down 2.7 percent, while consumer staples was the lone gainer, climbing 1.1 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 4.8 percent, signaling a broad pullback in chip names.
Tech earnings tested
Nvidia’s strong numbers highlight both demand and potential stress
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) once again posted eye popping results, yet markets reacted with skepticism the next day. The chipmaker reported third quarter revenue of $57 billion, up 62 percent year on year, and net profit of $32 billion, up 65 percent. Management flagged even stronger revenue in the fourth quarter, guiding to about $65 billion, above the consensus near $62 billion.
That kind of growth is reshaping expectations for generative AI workloads and cloud demand. Cloud GPUs and new Blackwell chips drew particular attention. CEO commentary described rapid adoption of AI broadly, and that rhetoric helped lift shares in extended trading after the results.
At the same time, the numbers intensify a debate about AI capital expenditure. Investors worry whether data center upgrades scale profitably across the sector. Those concerns hit suppliers hard. Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) fell about 11 percent, and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) lost 8 percent on the session. The divergence between headline beats and stock reactions shows how fragile sentiment can be when capacity questions surface.
Economic data complicates the picture
Strong payrolls but rising unemployment leave the Fed’s path unclear
The first major US jobs release since the shutdown produced mixed signals. Payrolls rose by 119,000 in September, a solid headline gain compared with the breakeven pace near 50,000. Yet the unemployment rate climbed to 4.4 percent, a four year high. That combination muddies readings on labor demand and wage pressure.
Broader trend measures matter here. The rolling pace of job growth remains the slowest this century outside recession periods. Market participants noted that October payrolls will be combined with November data and reported on December 16, after the Federal Reserve’s next meeting. That timing removes a nearby datapoint from policy deliberations, and may add to short term uncertainty.
Fixed income moved on the news. Short dated US yields fell as much as 6 basis points, producing a modest bull steepening. The 10 year rate ended a bit lower, by about 3 basis points. Futures trimmed the probability of an earlier tightening path and pushed the market implied chance of a December rate cut up to roughly 40 percent. These shifts are reactionary and reflect how data and earnings are interacting to change near term positioning.
Safe havens and global flows
Traditional refuges offered limited comfort as risk repriced
The classic safe haven trio did not mount a clear rally during the US equity turmoil. Gold finished little changed, and the Swiss franc was flat. The Japanese yen hit fresh lows before recovering some losses. US Treasuries attracted buying, but the move was muted relative to equity swings. The 10 year Treasury yield fell only a few basis points.
Crypto and commodities also reflected risk appetite. Bitcoin slid about 5 percent to a seven month low below $86,000. Oil eased modestly. The dollar index ended the day flat overall, after trading near a six month high earlier in the session. On the equity front, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) stood out with a strong gain of 6.5 percent, showing that defensive consumer names can attract cash when tech stumbles.
Looking ahead, markets will parse a slate of international and domestic data that could extend this period of higher volatility. Flash PMIs for Japan, the UK, the euro zone and the US arrive, along with Japan inflation and trade data, UK retail sales and public finances, and Canada retail sales. Bank speakers include the Bank of England chief economist and two ECB officials. In the United States, several Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to speak, including New York Fed President John Williams, Boston Fed President Susan Collins, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Fed Governor Michael Barr, and Vice Chair Philip Jefferson. Those comments will be monitored for any fresh nuance on policy and financial stability views.
For now, the market reaction to a blockbuster tech earnings cycle and a muddled jobs report suggests investors are weighing the trade off between rapid AI driven demand and the risk that capital spending growth proves uneven. The coming sessions will show whether this episode becomes a brief bout of volatility or a more sustained reassessment of growth and risk premia across regions.
