Market Recap: NYSE Traders React to S&P 500 Dip and Nvidia Pullback

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange had a rollercoaster of a day on Friday as the S&P 500 ticked lower, driven by a pullback in shares of market bellwether Nvidia for a second consecutive day.

The broad market index fell 0.16% to close at 5,464.62, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.18% to settle at 17,689.36. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 15.57 points, or 0.04%, to finish at 39,150.33.

“Technology stocks continue to be in the spotlight,” said Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management. “I can’t remember a time when one single stock has been so influential on the market, and that’s really been a key driver of the market action as of late.”

Nvidia shares declined by 3.2% on Friday, following a day where the stock hit an all-time high before closing more than 3% lower. Despite this, the chipmaker is still up 155% year-to-date and briefly surpassed Microsoft as the most valuable public company earlier in the week.

The S&P 500 hit an intraday record earlier in the week at 5,505.53 and closed the week with a 0.6% gain. The Nasdaq finished the week flat, while the Dow had its best weekly performance since May with a 1.45% increase.

Some signs of an overextended market have started to emerge in recent sessions, raising questions about whether the AI-fueled rally has reached its peak. Even Nvidia, a stock large enough to sway the market, is showing signs of slowing upward momentum.

“It’s probably not a bad time to take some chips off the table,” said Dave Grecsek, a managing director at Aspiriant. “We’ve had a magnificent run, and the market is looking a little extended.”

The total U.S. market experienced its highest trading volume since March 15, attributed to the triple witching – the expiration of stock options, stock index options, and stock index futures options. Interestingly, the last triple witching day was also on March 15.

As traders head into the new week, all eyes will be on how the market reacts to the recent fluctuations and whether the momentum can continue or if a correction is on the horizon.