U.S. stocks close mixed following steep declines

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday following the market's steepest declines in a month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 309.74 points, or 0.65 percent, to 47,147.48, marking its second straight drop but still notching a weekly gain. The S and P 500 slipped 3.38 points, or 0.05 percent, to 6,734.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.23 points, or 0.13 percent, to 22,900.59, snapping a three-day losing streak.

Seven of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors finished lower, with materials and financials leading the laggards, down 1.18 percent and 0.97 percent, respectively. Energy and technology outperformed, advancing 1.37 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively.

The tech trade regained some footing after several days of pressure. AI leaders Nvidia and Oracle rebounded from their losses in the prior session, as did Palantir Technologies and Tesla, both of which had dropped more than 6 percent on Thursday.

Those sharp declines had briefly put the Nasdaq on course to break its seven-week winning streak, but Friday's recovery lifted the index back into positive territory for the week. Concerns about the sustainability of the AI rally have intensified, with the recent rout in cloud-computing giant Oracle heightening worries over stretched valuations, heavy reliance on debt financing, and soaring capital expenditure plans across the sector.

"AI is truly testing the limits of Wall Street spreadsheets right now," David Krakauer, vice president of portfolio management at Mercer Advisors, told CNBC, adding that investors pricing in "so much of this future growth that they really can't measure yet" just spurs an "environment of swings."

Adding to the market unease, traders continued to assess the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision. Market pricing now puts the odds of a quarter-point rate cut in December at below 50 percent, which is sharply lower than the roughly 95 percent probability seen a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

U.S. stocks close mixed following steep declines

U.S. stocks close mixed following steep declines

China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with visiting German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in Beijing on Monday, and called on German companies to seize opportunities and deepen cooperation with Chinese partners in traditional and emerging sectors.

Wang noted that economic and trade cooperation between China and Germany has helped both sides develop industrial integration, interconnected markets, and complementary technologies, stabilizing and deepening bilateral relations, while also promoting the healthy development of China's trade and economic relations with the European Union (EU).

"We welcome German companies to seize new opportunities, consolidate cooperation in traditional sectors including machinery, automobiles, and chemicals, and tap the potential for cooperation in emerging businesses such as clean energy, intelligent manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals," said Wang.

Wang also noted that the current trend of politicizing trade and economic issue is on the rise, and global industrial and supply chains are being severely disrupted as a result. China and Germany, as well as China and the EU, should uphold free trade and safeguard the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, Wang said.

Wadephul said Germany opposes protectionism and considers China its most important trading partner. He added that Germany wants to maintain and expand the positive momentum of cooperation.

"China is a driver of innovation and a major hub for high technology in many aspects. We are very keen to maintain exchanges with China both economically and scientifically," said Wadephul.

China and Germany are the world's second and third biggest economies. According to German data, China was once again Germany's largest trading partner in the first three quarters of this year.

China’s commerce minister meets with German FM, calling for deepening cooperation