U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday (the 13th), as the management turmoil triggered by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's resignation continued to reverberate, making semiconductors and artificial intelligence stocks the target of renewed selling. Combined with the U.S. October Producer Price Index (PPI) annual rate climbing to its highest since 2022, investors remained uneasy about the Federal Reserve's (Fed) path of tightening, and capital visibly withdrew from high-risk assets, with Bitcoin also losing the psychological $70,000 mark.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 50.46 points, or 0.1%, at 52,347.55. The S&P 500 fell 30.73 points, or 0.4%, to 7,561.67. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 229.82 points, or 0.91%, to 25,136.27. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 3.4% on the day, making it the weakest sector on the board.
PPI Annual Rate Accelerates, Inflation Alarm Not Yet Cleared
The U.S. Labor Department reported that October PPI rose 0.3% month-over-month, not only below September's 1.4% but also slightly below market expectations. However, the annual rate accelerated from 6.3% to 6.5%, the largest increase since 2022, indicating that cost pressures at the corporate level have not truly subsided.
The market had hoped this data would slightly ease pressure on the Fed to raise rates next month, but it only bought a brief respite. BMO Capital Markets strategist Vail Hartman noted that the components within PPI that feed into the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, were relatively weak in October, helping to alleviate market concerns. However, New York Fed President John Williams said bluntly before the data was released that inflation remains elevated and policymakers must take further action to suppress price pressures.
The October Consumer Price Index (CPI) released earlier this week rose 0.4% month-over-month, already above economists' estimate of 0.3%, and now the PPI annual rate has accelerated again, fueling investor worries that inflation may prove stubborn. The U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield rose to 5.15% the same day, placing heavier valuation pressure on high price-to-earnings tech stocks.
Nvidia Slips to Third by Market Value as Chip Stocks Broadly Weaken
Market concerns over Nvidia's management changes showed no sign of easing, with the stock falling another 2% on the day and its market value sliding to $3.92 trillion. Microsoft, despite a massive global service outage that affected Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Copilot products under Microsoft 365 starting Thursday and impacting millions of users, saw its shares open lower but close higher, ending up 0.17% with a market value of $3.89 trillion. Just last week Nvidia was battling Apple for the global market value crown; now it must look back to compete with Microsoft for second place.
Other chip stocks could not escape the selling pressure either. AMD plunged more than 8.75%, Micron fell 2.5%, Arm dropped 4.6%, and TSMC ADR (TSM) fell 1.6%. Tech giants were mixed: Apple edged up 0.4%, Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) fell 1%, Amazon (AMZN) fell 0.3%, and Meta (META) bucked the trend with a 2.9% gain.
Notably, there was a clear defensive rotation. Coca-Cola (KO) rose 1.86% to close at $99.25, a record closing high. Chubb (CB), a holding of Warren Buffett's Berkshire, also rose 1% and continued to hover near highs. The strength in traditional value stocks and weakness in growth stocks reflects investors shifting positions from richly valued assets toward names with stable cash flows.
Bitcoin Breaks Down in Tandem as Risk Appetite Clearly Cools
The cryptocurrency market came under pressure as well, with Bitcoin at $68,803.6 as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time, officially breaking below the $70,000 threshold. Tech stocks and Bitcoin weakening on the same day shows that the market's attitude toward high-risk assets has turned cautious, with capital outflows and declining risk appetite forming a vicious cycle.
In commodities, New York crude oil was at $88.92 a barrel, up $0.18; New York gold was at $3,880.46 an ounce, down $4.9.
Heavy Earnings Week Ahead, Nvidia Results in Focus
The coming week holds plenty of market variables. On November 16, Baidu (BIDU) reports results and the U.S. releases the New York State manufacturing index; on the 17th, Nvidia, Home Depot and Disney take the stage, with October retail sales data released the same day; on the 18th, Target and Lowe's report earnings and the Fed releases minutes of its October policy meeting; on the 19th, Walmart, Futu (FUTU) and PDD Holdings follow; and on the 20th, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index is released.
Nvidia's earnings will draw the most attention. Amid the CEO's departure and employees urging the board to reconsider bringing Jensen Huang back, how management explains its operating direction and the visibility of AI orders will directly affect investment confidence in the semiconductor sector.
Separately, market reports indicate that Elon Musk is accelerating a merger between SpaceX and Tesla, with the deal potentially announced publicly as early as December. If completed, it would be the largest merger in history. Tesla is scheduled to hold its annual shareholder meeting on December 3, at which three directors up for re-election are the key figures who would approve the merger; the two companies' boards and advisory teams have entered negotiations over valuation and control.
Despite the market turbulence, Goldman Sachs chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer's team remains bullish, projecting the S&P 500 could rise to 8,700 over the next 12 months, about 14% above the baseline level used in the report, with further upside for U.S. stocks even if corporate earnings growth slows markedly in 2027.
Below are Friday's closing levels for major assets:
Note: Index and commodity prices are closing or settlement levels as of 4 p.m. Eastern Time; Bitcoin is quoted at the same time.
Looking at sector rotation, this correction is not a broad crash but a repricing of valuations. Semiconductor and AI concept stocks have posted stunning gains over the past year, and now, with yields approaching 5.2% and inflation data proving stubborn, any small development is easily amplified. By contrast, Coca-Cola's record closing high shows that institutional money has not left the stock market; it has simply shifted toward traditional industries with stable dividends and predictable cash flows.
For Taiwanese investors, the Nvidia management episode and its upcoming earnings will be key indicators for watching Taiwan's AI supply chain. TSMC ADR fell 1.6% on the day, but less than AMD and Arm, indicating that the foundry leader's order visibility remains relatively solid. Still, if Nvidia's earnings send a cautious signal, related packaging and testing, thermal management and server contract manufacturing names may struggle to remain unscathed in the near term.
