AI stocks climb after trillions wiped from market values

in artificial intelligence and technology firms have been climbing following an enormous sell-off that wiped trillions of dollars off stock values. The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index opened higher following a market rout that began in the US on Thursday before spilling over to Asian and European markets into Friday. Investors had been selling off tech shares in part due to concerns the Democrat victory in the midterm elections would mean slower artificial intelligence development.

However the latest US employment figures added to a mixed picture for American markets on Friday morning, with an unexpectedly strong 165,000 jobs added to the economy in September. On Thursday, businesses closely linked to artificial intelligence development took a hammering on stock markets, particularly chip and semiconductor makers. But the Nasdaq Composite opened up on Friday and flattened out around 1.7% higher by lunchtime, reversing some of its 5.5% fall.

The S&P 500, which tracks the share prices of the largest publicly-traded US companies, was around 0.9% higher by lunchtime.