Dow Passes 50K For First Time Ever As Tech Stocks Bounce Back From Earlier Losses
U.S. stocks rallied sharply on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing the 50,000 threshold for the first time as investors shook off earlier technology-sector losses and returned to risk assets.
The blue-chip Dow jumped 1,206.95 points, a gain of 2.5%, finishing the session at 50,115.67.
Other major benchmarks also posted strong daily gains. The S&P 500 advanced 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.2%. Despite Friday’s surge, the Nasdaq was unable to escape a negative week, ending down 1.8% after a three-day sell-off earlier in the week.
Chipmakers and AI-linked technology firms were among the strongest performers. Shares of Nvidia jumped 7.9%, while Broadcom rose 7.1%. Oracle gained 3.2%, and Palantir added 4%.
Cryptocurrency markets also rebounded sharply. Bitcoin surged 11% to just under $70,000 after briefly falling below $61,000 overnight, its lowest level since October.
Even with the rebound, Bitcoin remained more than 52% below its record high of $126,000 reached in early October 2025, when investors were betting that President Donald Trump would relax regulatory pressure on the crypto industry.
Not all technology stocks participated in the rally. Software companies continued to face pressure amid concerns that rapid advances in artificial intelligence could automate many of their services. ServiceNow slid 1.9%, while Salesforce ended up 0.7% after earlier trading lower.
Amazon stood out as a major decliner. The stock dropped more than 5% after disappointing earnings results and plans to spend $200 billion on AI, chips, and robotics fueled doubts about whether heavy AI investment will translate into long-term profits.
“Tech stocks have been dropping as concerns grow that AI may supplant traditional software applications, reduce the utility of legacy search engines, and divert online advertising to AI engines,” Kenin Spivak, chairman and CEO of SMI Group LLC, told The Post.
“As often happens, sellers depressed stock prices to a level that bargain hunters find attractive, leading to at least short term gains. Prices may continue to bounce around as investors evaluate the implications of AI.”
Spivak said a similar dynamic is playing out in the cryptocurrency market: “When Bitcoin’s trading price falls, collectors who believe there will be other collectors step in to push up the price.”
Bitcoin’s rally lifted stocks closely tied to digital assets. Robinhood Markets soared 13.5%, the biggest percentage gainer in the S&P 500.
Coinbase Global climbed 13%, while Strategy — the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, formerly known as MicroStrategy — surged 26%.
Investors also appeared to rotate toward value stocks during the session, with Goldman Sachs rising 4.2%.
Smaller companies joined the advance as well, pushing the Russell 2000 Index up 3.6%.
Stronger-than-expected consumer sentiment data released Friday likely added fuel to the rally, benefiting cyclical sectors such as airlines. United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines each gained between 7% and 9%.
In commodities markets, gold futures rose 1.8% to $4,979, while silver edged up 0.3% to $76.94.
{Matzav.com}
