Nasdaq 100 Rebounds 2% as October Payrolls Smash Estimates (7 Nov)

October payrolls increase by 165,000

The unemployment rate decreased to 4.1% from 4.2%.

August and September payrolls received an upward revision of 84,000 combined. Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% for the month and 3.1% year-over-year.

September payrolls data had been scheduled for release on Friday morning with expectations of growth compared to the previous month.

Tech stocks lead market recovery

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF increased 3.8% after a Thursday decline that marked the worst session for chip stocks since 2020.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares added 9.8%. Micron Technology Inc. shares rose 6.3% on Friday following a 17.5% decline on Thursday.

Tesla Inc. shares climbed 4.8%. CEO Elon Musk said the company plans to wind down Cybertruck production to prioritize the self-driving Cybercab.

Volatility index drops 16% as sentiment improves

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 16% to 23.67 on Friday. This decline followed a nearly 70% increase on Thursday.

One-year inflation expectations declined to 4.3% from 4.7%.

Corporate earnings drive mixed stock performance

The company lowered its 2026 revenue guidance to between $6.35 billion and $6.55 billion.

Axon Enterprise Inc. shares sank 18.1% after missing third-quarter earnings estimates. The company lowered its full-year revenue guidance due to delays in federal deployments of its Dedrone product.

The company raised its 2026 revenue outlook to between $755 million and $760 million.

Quantinuum Inc. shares jumped 22.2% after reporting third-quarter revenue of $9.1 million. The company increased its 2026 revenue forecast to between $31 million and $34 million.

Oklo Inc. shares rallied 21.7% after reporting third-quarter revenue of $1.86 million, exceeding the $1.02 million estimate. The company announced the start of structural construction for its Aurora powerhouse in Idaho.

IREN Ltd. shares climbed 19.5% after reporting fiscal first-quarter revenue of $228 million. AI cloud revenue increased 182% from the previous quarter to $200 million.

Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. shares fell 14.8% following a downgrade by Leerink Partners from Outperform to Market Perform.

Atlassian Corp. shares dropped 14.6% after Truist Securities lowered its price target for the stock from $250 to $200. Its fiscal first-quarter cloud revenue grew 30.5%.

Microchip Technology Inc. shares slid 13.7% after providing December-quarter revenue guidance of $1.61 billion, falling short of the $1.63 billion consensus estimate.

Regulatory scrutiny impacts AI and data centers

The Democratic Party victory in the midterm elections created concerns regarding increased regulatory scrutiny of artificial intelligence development and data center construction. Texas Governor-Elect Gina Hinojosa requested a pause on new data center construction until laws are implemented to protect citizens.

Anthropic is facing increased investor scrutiny regarding its planned public listing later this month. Reports suggest the startup might delay the process.

Context of Thursday's historic market decline

The Nasdaq closed in correction territory on its worst day since April 2025.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 12.25% during the trading session. AMD stock slid 17%. Nvidia shares fell 9.26% to $181.60.

Other major technology companies also saw declines on Thursday. Meta shares fell 3.96% to $605.08, while Alphabet shares dropped 2.20% to $282.57. Amazon shares fell 2.19% to $260.21, and Netflix shares declined 1.25% to $65.56. Tesla shares fell 10.77% to $343.69. Apple shares declined 1.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average received support from capital flows into defensive, non-tech sectors such as consumer staples and utilities. By Thursday evening, U.S. stock index futures showed signs of recovery following the selloff in the technology and artificial intelligence sectors.