Stocks Fall As Chipmakers Retreat From Highs, Bitcoin Pulls Back After $70,000, Gold Rises To $2,200: What’s Driving Markets Friday?

Initially, optimism was fueled by traders interpreting the February jobs report’s mixed signals as solidifying expectations for June rate cuts.

The report revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 in February, surpassing the anticipated rise of 200,000, while the January figure was downwardly revised to 229,000. The unemployment rate surprisingly rose from 3.7% in January to 3.9% in February.

Investor attention swiftly shifted to profit-taking in the semiconductor sector, as disappointing guidance from Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) and Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) led to declines of 9.3% and over 6%, respectively.

The chipmaker benchmark, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX), tumbled 2.4%, on course for its worst session since late January, while Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) plummeted 3.6%.

Notably, small caps outperformed large caps, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), reaching the highest levels since early April 2022.

Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar rebounded from their initial losses post-jobs report.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) briefly reached a record high of $70,199 before retracing to $68,500 by midday.

Gold, tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), nears $2,200/oz, marking fresh record highs and poised for its eighth consecutive session of gains, its longest streak since July 2020.