Wall Street closed Friday's session without a clear direction, with the technology sector recovering part of the steep losses recorded the previous day amid investor concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence (AI) investments. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.09% and the S&P 500 gained 0.31%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.46%.

The partial recovery was led by semiconductor manufacturers, though gains were insufficient to offset the losses from the prior session, according to analysts at Briefing.com.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq had suffered its worst session since April 2025, falling 5.52%, while the S&P 500 shed 4.35%, both weighed down by a broad sell-off in AI-linked equities.

Pressure on the technology sector intensified following the results of the US midterm elections, which were marked by Republican setbacks. Investors fear that Democratic opposition to the siting of data centres in certain jurisdictions could slow the expansion of that infrastructure and curtail investment in AI.

"Are there going to be restrictions on this technology? Probably," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities, speaking to AFP, though he cautioned that it was too early to draw definitive conclusions.

Among major technology companies, Nvidia rose 2.78% after losing 9.30% on Thursday. AMD advanced 11.04%, while Micron gained 5.12% following a decline of more than 17% in the previous session.

Briefing.com analysts said the recovery largely reflected a partial correction of recent losses rather than a sustained reversal of the downward trend.

Despite Friday's gains, the Nasdaq remains more than 10% below the all-time high reached in October, keeping it firmly in correction territory.

The session was also shaped by US labour market data released by the Department of Labor, which exceeded analyst expectations.

According to official figures, the US economy created 165,000 jobs in October, more than double the 60,000 recorded in September. The unemployment rate fell from 4.2% to 4.1%, defying forecasts for it to hold steady, while economists had anticipated the creation of around 60,000 jobs.

For Jose Torres of Interactive Brokers, the employment indicators helped support the equity recovery. Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at Forex.com, said the results reinforced the Federal Reserve's assessment that the US labour market remains robust.

The data could give the central bank greater room to focus its monetary policy on combating inflation, raising expectations of a possible interest rate increase at its December meeting. The decision, however, will also depend on price developments and other incoming economic indicators.