Wall Street euphoria as Dow smashes through 50,000 for first time ever in massive rebound from crushing early losses
US stocks jumped Friday as tech shares recovered and bitcoin stabilized after recent losses.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,100 points on Friday, rising above 50,000 for the first time as US stocks rebounded from earlier losses this week.
The Dow climbed 2.2 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 1.7 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.9 percent.
Chip stocks led the rally on hopes that Amazon and other companies will increase spending on AI.
Nvidia jumped 7.3 percent to trim its loss for the week, which came into the day at just over 10 percent. Broadcom climbed 7.5 percent to erase its drop for the week fully.
They were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500, and they benefited from hopes for continued spending by customers diving into artificial-intelligence technology.
Amazon, for example, said late Thursday it expects to spend about $200 billion on investments this year to take advantage of ‘seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites.’
Stocks also got a lift from improved US consumer sentiment. Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000, snapping a weeks-long slide.
Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,100 points on Friday, rising above 50,000 for the first time as US stocks rebounded from earlier losses this week
Heavy spending like this – similar to what tech company Alphabet announced a day earlier – is also raising concerns.
Investors are questioning whether the spending will pay off with much higher profits in the future. With those doubts lingering, Amazon’s stock fell 5.3 percent.
President Donald Trump celebrated the record-breaking moment in a post on Truth Social: ‘The Dow Jones Industrial Average just hit 50,000 for the first time in History. CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!’
Even with Friday’s rebound, the S&P 500 is still on track for its third losing week out of the past four.
Beyond worries about massive AI spending by Big Tech, investors are also concerned that AI could take customers away from software companies. Those fears grew after AI firm Anthropic released free tools that can automate services such as legal work.
Metal prices also settled after sharp swings. Gold rose 1.9 percent to $4,982 per ounce, while silver gained 0.3 percent.
Gold and silver had surged last week as investors looked for safer assets amid political uncertainty, concerns about an expensive U.S. stock market, and rising government debt worldwide. By January, the rapid rise in prices had led some critics to call the rally unsustainable.
On Wall Street, bitcoin’s rebound helped boost crypto-related stocks. Robinhood Markets jumped 15 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Coinbase Global rose 11.3 percent, and Strategy, a company focused on buying and holding bitcoin, surged 23.7 percent.
