US markets close mixed as tech stocks push back

US technology stocks bounced back on Friday from their worst drubbing in more than a year, but the Nasdaq Composite Index posted a fourth consecutive weekly decline as investors sifted for clues about what comes next in the AI trade. Gains within technology were broadly shared, with the semiconductor index rallying and Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Sandisk rebounding. The broad revival underscores investor faith in the AI buildout that has driven US stock indexes to dozens of record closes this year, despite a shakeout that began with a US long-term Treasury yield spike in August and the stock volatility of the past month. “We still think AI is the dominant theme in this bull market,” said Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Trust Advisory Services in Atlanta. “We are still giving technology the benefit of the doubt.” The S&P 500 climbed 24.70 points, or 0.34 percent to end the session at 7,378.43. The Nasdaq gained 264.42 points, or 1.09 percent, to 24,579.42, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 237.33 points, or 0.46 percent, to 51,285.73. Lerner said he views the selloff this week, which has taken the Nasdaq into correction territory denoting a 10 percent decline from its peak a month ago, as...