Shares 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. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened a little down before nudging into positive territory.
Nvidia, which shed hundreds of billions in market value on Thursday after shares slid more than 9%, began Friday up more than 6% but settled around 4% higher as trading continued.
SpaceX and Tesla shares, which were also hammered on Thursday, saw more mixed gains, up more than 6% and nearly 5% respectively.
Chipmakers AMD and Micron both dropped by more than 17% on Thursday, but AMD shares had risen by about 12% on Friday while Micron was up more than 8%.
However, stock markets in Asia and Europe fared worse on Friday.
The Kospi in South Korea closed down 6% on Friday, with shares in chipmaker SK Hynix plunging more than 10%. European markets also fell, with the main indexes in Germany, France and Spain ending the day down.
In the UK, the FTSE 100, which tracks the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange, declined 1.01%.
In addition to the recent market volatility, UK traders were also digesting the latest Bank of England decision to raise interest rates and the signal that another rate rise could be on the cards to curb rising prices.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said it had been a brutal week for markets, and the key question was whether the jump in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq would be sustained.
“While no-one knows what happens next, it’s clear that we’ve just seen a significant shift in market sentiment,” he said.
“Once investors have had the weekend to catch their breath, next week could give a clearer indication of whether the tech trade is going down the pan or fighting back.”
