Stocks Waver as Brief Burst of Dip-Buying Fades: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — Stocks struggled for direction, with a brief dip-buying rally fading amid lingering caution at the end of a volatile week that brought this year’s artificial-intelligence-led rally to a halt.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were little changed after earlier gains of as much as 0.4%. The moves came after a fresh bout of selling on Thursday, led by some of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI-boom. US Treasuries gave back some of the previous session’s rally. The dollar held steady, while gold climbed above $4,000 an ounce.

Listen to the Stock Movers podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen.

The Magnificent Seven cohort of tech megacaps were muted in premarket trading after the group slipped more than 2% on Thursday. Tesla Inc. rose 0.6% as shareholders approved Elon Musk’s potential $1 trillion pay package. Microsoft Corp. was little changed following its longest losing streak since 2022.

Investors are heading into the end of a dizzying week that has delivered one of the toughest tests yet for the post-April AI-fueled rally amid growing doubts that the surge has gone too far.

Markets are also flying partly blind amid limited economic data during the longest US government shutdown in history, causing uncertainty on the path for interest rates.

“Sentiment is probably modestly cautious,” said Karen Georges, a fund manager at Ecofi. “Any reassuring news on employment data in the US, a potential end to the shutdown, or tariff news-flow could give markets a new boost.”

With the US benchmark down 1.8% for the week, a notable feature has been the lack of clear catalysts behind the swings. Traders say the choppiness may linger for a while but expect it to remain relatively shallow, with solid earnings and the prospect of eventual Fed easing continuing to underpin sentiment

“Things are definitely still rather uneasy, and have been all week, but there remains genuine dip-buying interest out there,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. “Participants are trying their best to look through some of the short-term volatility we’ve seen this week, and instead re-focusing on what remains a very solid fundamental bull case.”

Corporate Highlights:

Shares of Rightmove Plc tumbled the most on record after the company warned that revenue growth was likely to be flat in 2026 as it unveiled plans to boost investment in artificial intelligence. British Airways parent IAG SA said its all-important North Atlantic route experienced some weakness in the third quarter, weighing on earnings that missed estimates and causing the stock to drop the most since April. Novo Nordisk A/S has again increased its offer for Metsera Inc. as its takeover battle with Pfizer Inc. for the obesity startup escalates. Comcast Corp., owner of the European pay-television service Sky, is in talks to buy ITV Plc’s media and entertainment unit in a deal that would dramatically shake up the UK broadcasting landscape. Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5% as of 10:37 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures were little changed Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.8% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.9% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1546 The Japanese yen fell 0.2% to 153.39 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1252 per dollar The British pound fell 0.3% to $1.3103 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin fell 0.4% to $100,702.75 Ether fell 1.3% to $3,282.86 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced two basis points to 4.10% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.67% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced four basis points to 4.47% Commodities

Brent crude rose 1.2% to $64.16 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.7% to $4,006.44 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.