U.S. jobs data drives sharp rotation across stocks, bonds and gold

U.S. equities slipped from Thursday’s rebound highs by midday Friday after a blowout August payroll report forced traders to price in a genuine chance the Federal Reserve raises rates this month.

Beneath a quiet index tape, the rotation was violent: memory and semiconductor names ripped while software and discretionary retail were gutted.

The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly triple the 55,000 consensus and a sharp reversal from July’s upwardly revised 21,000 increase. • Astera Labs stock is charging ahead with explosive momentum.

What’s fueling ALAB momentum? President Donald Trump is pressing for cuts while the rates market moved the opposite direction.

Markets now price a roughly 52% probability of a 25-basis-point increase in the federal funds rate this month, up sharply from Thursday.

Across U.S. equity markets by midday Friday, losses were shallow, but the internals were anything but calm.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 7,725.16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 250 points, or 0.5%, to 53,436.22.

The Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.3% to 29,408.11, cushioned by chips.

Gold gave back ground as the dollar firmed on the jobs data, falling 0.8% to $4,437 an ounce after briefly cracking lower post-print.

Silver dropped 1.2% to $66.14.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 1.8% to below $80,000.

Friday’s Performance In Major U.S.

Indices Index Last % Change MTD YTD S&P 500 7,725.16 -0.3% +0.5% +13.6% Dow Jones 53,436.22 -0.5% +0.5% +11.9% Nasdaq 100 29,408.11 -0.3% +0.2% +17.1% Russell 2000 2,974.64 +0.2% +0.7% +20.6% Updated by 12:45 p.m.

ET.

According to the Pro platform: The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO ) fell 0.3%.

The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE: DIA ) slid 0.5%.

The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ ) edged up 0.1%.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM ) gained 0.2%.

Memory Melts Up, SaaS Bleeds and a Credit Score Monopoly Breaks The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLK ) was the best performer, up 0.7%, followed by the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLI ) at 0.4%.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLY ) was the clear laggard, down 1.4%, dragged by the day’s retail wreckage, with the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLC ) off 1%, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLV ) down 0.8% and the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLE ) 0.7% lower alongside softer crude.

At the industry level, the U.S.

Global Jets ETF (NYSE: JETS ) led with a 1.6% gain as lower fuel costs fed through, and the iShares U.S.

Home Construction ETF (BATS: ITB ) added 0.6%.

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX ) was the worst industry group, sinking 1.9% with bullion, while the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (NYSE: KIE ) fell 0.9%.

Semiconductors and storage were the day’s engine.

Astera Labs Inc. (NASDAQ: ALAB ) topped the Russell 1000 with a 12% surge to $316.86, riding a broad AI-connectivity bid that has analysts carrying an average price target near $390 on the stock.

SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK ) jumped 10.3% to $1,714.87 as the NAND pricing cycle accelerated.

Semtech Corp. (NASDAQ: SMTC ) climbed 9.1% with no confirmed catalyst on the day, extending gains that followed Stifel’s price-target hike to $157 and Morgan Stanley’s call on accelerating AI optical momentum.

KLA Corp. (NASDAQ: KLAC ) rose 8.2% after Susquehanna lifted its 2026 and 2027 estimates and flagged wafer-fab equipment spending running as high as $300 billion on longer semiconductor-capital-equipment backlogs.

Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI ) gained 7.3%, moving with the AI server and storage complex.

Peers followed: TTM Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: TTMI ) added 6.9%, Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR ) rose 7.0%, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MU ) and Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT ) each rose about 4.5%, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC ) advanced 4.4% and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC ) gained 4.1%.

Software went the other way, hard.

Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE ) was the worst name in the index, collapsing 21% to $160.19.

The insurance-software vendor reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after Thursday’s close that topped revenue expectations, but a price-to-earnings multiple above 100 left no room for anything less than a clean beat on subscription growth, and the stock had already faded from an intraday high above $204.

Autodesk Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK ) fell 7.9% with no confirmed catalyst on the day — its quarter was reported back on Aug.

27 — making it a casualty of the broader de-rating in design and enterprise software on AI disruption fears.