Ross Stores rises on strong earnings; The fall of Nvidia, Oracle, and Broadcom as artificial intelligence continues to decline

Shares of one clothing retailer rose off-price after the company touted its success in the back-to-school season and issued a rosy outlook for the critical holiday quarter. Meanwhile, one database software company has remained under pressure as questions persist about its valuation and ability to achieve lofty goals.

Major US stock indexes rebounded on Friday, recovering from losses incurred in the previous session. The S&P 500 finished the final trading session of the week up 0.9%. The Dow Jones rose 1.1%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.8%. See here for Investopedia’s full summary of Friday’s major market moves.

Ross Stores (ROST) shares rose 8.4% after the clothing, footwear and accessories retailer beat third-quarter sales and earnings estimates. The company is the latest discount retailer to prove it benefits from consumers’ bargain-hunting. Ross highlighted the strength of the back-to-school shopping season and raised his expectations, citing optimism about the crucial holiday period.

Comments from New York Fed President John Williams helped boost expectations that policymakers may cut interest rates in December. Optimism about lower interest rates has boosted shares of companies exposed to the housing market, which will benefit from lower mortgage interest rates. Shares of residential building materials supplier Builders FirstSource (BLDR) jumped 7.1%, while homebuilders DR Horton (DHI) and Lennar (LEN) also posted strong gains.

Insulet (PODD) shares rose 5.8% a day after the medical device maker held an investor day event. The manufacturer of continuous glucose monitoring devices provided a three-year sales and profit forecast that beat consensus expectations. Several research firms raised their price targets on Insulet shares after the event.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL) fell 5.7%, continuing a recent downtrend and suffering the biggest decline of any S&P 500 stock on Friday. The database software company and cloud computing giant has been roiled recently by concerns about its high valuation and heavy borrowing associated with its data center investments. After Friday’s drop, the stock is down roughly 28% over the past month.

Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell 1% as concerns about an AI bubble continue to weigh on high-flying technology stocks. Friday’s decline extended the stock’s 3% loss yesterday despite the AI ​​chip giant beating previous estimates with its third-quarter earnings report. Nvidia’s biggest rivals, Broadcom (AVGO) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), fell 1.9% and 1.1%, respectively, on Friday. Nuclear power suppliers Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy Corp (CEG), whose shares have soared over the past year after striking multibillion-dollar deals to operate artificial intelligence data centers, have also suffered from bubble fears. Their shares fell 3% and 2.2%, respectively.