NEW YORK - US markets advanced while European counterparts marked time, in response to sharp losses in Asia at the end of a week which saw heightened fears of a bursting AI bubble.
A blockbuster earnings report from chip bellwether Nvidia on Wednesday seemed to soothe concerns that vast investments in the artificial intelligence sector may have been overdone.
But Nvidia shares closed one percent lower on Wall Street as warnings grew that the tech-led rally may have run its course across equities. This had seen several markets hit record highs and companies clock eye-watering capitalisations.
Adding to unease were mixed US September jobs data released Thursday that raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve could decide against cutting interest rates in December.
That unease spread to Asia, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai all ending the week down almost 2.5 percent at the close.
The clouds began to clear to a degree, however, as the Dow climbed 1.1 percent by end-Friday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.9 percent and the broader-based S&P 500 rose 1.0 percent.
Europe lacked direction as London ended just a sliver in the green. Paris was flat -- although Ubisoft provided a glimmer of light -- while Frankfurt lost 0.8 percent.
French video game company Ubisoft resumed trading in Paris, a week after stunning investors by postponing its results announcement without an explanation, triggering speculation in the video gaming world.
The "Assassin's Creed" maker said Friday the move was due to a simple "restatement" of its half-yearly results after new auditors found problems with the way it had accounted for a partnership.
The rush from risk assets saw digital currrency bitcoin hit a seven-month low at $81,569.79 before pulling back to around $84,490 -- extending a sell-off suffered since its record high above $126,200 last month.