The Nasdaq rose on Friday, lifted by Oracle, as the artificial intelligence trade looks to regain its footing after recent volatility.
PDD up 7%; Nvidia up 2%; Nike down 10%
Oracle shares up more than 4% after TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture that includes the software giant and private equity investor Silver Lake.
The jump marks a turnaround the for the stock, which has been a focal point of concern among investors this week after a report revealed that the cloud infrastructure company lost a key backer of one of its data center projects. That dragged down other stocks linked to the AI trade, including names such as Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices. Week to date, Oracle shares have fallen more than 5%.
Elsewhere in the space, shares of AI chip darling Nvidia rose about 1% in the premarket after Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the Trump administration is reviewing the prospect of the company selling its advanced AI chips to China. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump said that he will allow Nvidia to ship its H200 AI chips to “approved customers” in the country.
Additionally, Micron Technology shares extended their gains from the previous session, rising more than 1%. The stock surged 10% on Thursday the company gave robust guidance for revenues in the current quarter, saying that “demand is substantially higher than supply for the foreseeable future.” The results reassured investors after recent sessions were swamped with jitters over the AI trade, which is now looking to end the year on a strong note.
To be sure, semiconductor stocks remain about 8% below their highs.
Meanwhile, Nike shares slid more than 11% as the sports apparel giant saw revenue in its Greater China market decline during the fiscal second quarter. The company is also feeling the pain of tariff increases, noting a hit to its gross margins due to the levies.
Friday could see volatile market activity as options on four types of securities are set to expire on the same day, an event known as “quadruple witching.” More than $7.1 trillion in notional options exposure is set to expire this Friday, making it the largest options expiration on record, according to Goldman Sachs.
This comes after the S&P 500 and the Dow both snapped their four-day losing streaks in the previous session. The Nasdaq Composite also rose, gaining 1.4%, as several tech stocks recouped losses from the day before. Notably, Each of the Magnificent Seven stocks closed Thursday in the green.
“The significance and timing of the returns on AI investment remain uncertain,” Magdalena Ocampo, market strategist at Principal Asset Management, wrote in a note to clients. “However, monetary easing, fiscal policy, and easing trade uncertainty, combined with AI spending as a new growth engine, point to a more favorable macro backdrop in 2026. The result could be an equity rally that expands from just a handful of dominant AI leaders to a broader group, particularly those with tangible gains from AI adoption.”
This week, the S&P 500 and 30-stock Dow are down about 0.8% and 1%, respectively. The Nasdaq is down 0.8% week to date.
