S&P 500, Nasdaq close higher, Dow Jones solely retreated

Most US stock indexes rose at the end of the week’s first session amid gains in the technology sector driven by advances in Amazon and Nvidia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.48%, or 226 points, to 47,336 points, weighed down by a nearly 4% drop in pharmaceutical giant Merck’s shares.

The broader S&P 500 edged up 0.17%, or 11 points, to 6,851. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.46%, or 109 points, to 23,834.

The positive performance of Nasdaq was supported by a 4% gain in Amazon shares to $254, after the company reached a $38 billion cloud computing agreement with OpenAI based on Nvidia chips. Shares of Nvidia also advanced 2.17% to $206.88.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 remained unchanged at 577 points, despite a 0.75% rise in the automotive sector.

Germany’s DAX added 0.75% to 24,132, France’s CAC 40 inched down 0.15% to 8,109, and Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.15% to 9,701 points.

In Japan, the Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed for a public holiday in observance of Culture Day and is scheduled to resume trading on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures for January delivery edged up 0.19%, or 12 cents, to $64.89 a barrel.

US WTI crude futures for December delivery rose 0.11%, or 7 cents, to $61.05 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery increased 0.43%, or $17.5, to settle at $4,014 per ounce.