US stocks edged higher on Friday as a bumpy week didn't prevent the major averages from pacing for weekly gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.4%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) traded near the flat line. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined 0.1%.
While stocks slipped on Thursday, they have largely held firm against a series of tremors from Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang stepping down to rising oil prices and a sell-off in government bonds.
Nvidia stock recovered on Friday as the fallout from Huang's affairs continued to unfold, raising the stakes for the company's third quarter earnings next Tuesday. Investors are debating whether the controversy surrounding the chip giant's former leader implicates the wider artificial intelligence boom that Nvidia has played a central role in building.
Chipmaker sector stocks declined further.
Oil prices were little changed, providing some relief after a spike in prices sparked Thursday's sell-off in bonds. As traders braced for an interest rate hike in December, the 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) reached 5.10% on Thursday, its highest level since October.
The setup has pressured the price of bitcoin (BTC), with the world's largest cryptocurrency tumbling below $70,000 early Friday for the first time in nearly three months.
In economic news, wholesale inflation rose 0.3% month over month in October, according to the producer price index. The reading was less than the 0.4% economists expected, but the annual rate of 6.5% highlighted persistent inflation pressures.
