USA: Stocks Close Flat to Negative.

US stocks recovered from steep early losses on Friday but still closed flat to lower as investors bought back major tech names and reassessed the likelihood of a December rate cut, leaving the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 mostly flat while the Dow finished 280 points lower. Nvidia, Microsoft, Oracle, and Palantir each rose between 1.1% and 2.4%, reversing part of Thursday’s sharp tech decline, while defensive shares lagged with United Healthcare down 3.2% and Home Depot down 1.6%. Breadth remained uneven as several large caps reached fresh highs and an equal number sank to new yearly lows, underscoring a market still grappling with stretched AI valuations, rising funding demands and a pullback in expectations for near term easing. The end of the lengthy government shutdown removed one source of uncertainty but created another amid delayed data releases leaving traders without clear signals ahead of the next Fed decision, keeping volatility as investors reposition for year end.