After a few minutes of trading, the three major indices had lost 1–1.6 percent. But then came a quick recovery, before prices fell again, only to climb again – but then plummet again.
When trading closed after Friday's roller coaster ride, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.7 percent, and the broad S&P 500 index was down 0.1 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 0.1 percent.
This follows Thursday's fall of 1.7-2.3 percent, which marked the worst day in over a month.
First statistics
A source of concern is still how the market will react when economic statistics begin to be released again when the US government has fully reopened after a six-week shutdown – and whether this will lead to the US Federal Reserve not lowering its key interest rate in December.
On Thursday next week, the first labor market statistics after the end of the lockdown will be published, according to CNBC.
In addition, uncertainty still weighs on whether AI sector stocks are significantly overvalued.
Technology companies in recovery
Index-heavy technology stocks such as Nvidia, AMD, Palantir, Oracle and Tesla started Friday clearly gloomy but all recovered and closed up 0.6–2.4 percent.
The technology sector's industry index overall rose 0.5 percent.
Semiconductor giant Nvidia, the world's most valuable publicly traded company, is set to release its quarterly report on Wednesday next week. That report could provide a strong indication of the near future of the AI sector.
During the week as a whole, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 0.3 and 0.1 percent, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 percent, according to the AP news agency.
