Stocks have moved sharply higher during trading on Friday, regaining ground following the slump seen over the past few sessions. With the strong upward move, the Dow has reached a new record intraday high.
Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still posting strong gains. The Dow is up 817.75 points or 1.7 percent at 49,726.47, the S&P 500 is up 80.05 points or 1.2 percent at 6,878.45 and the Nasdaq is up 234.07 points or 1.0 percent at 22,774.66.
The significant strength on Wall Street largely reflects bargain hunting, as some traders look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent weakness.
Tech stocks helped lead the pullback seen over the past few days, dragging the Nasdaq down to its lowest closing level in over two months.
The S&P 500 also hit its lowest intraday level in over a month in early trading on Thursday before regaining some ground.
Positive sentiment may also have been generated in reaction to a report from the University of Michigan showing consumer sentiment in the U.S. has unexpectedly seen a continued improvement in the month of February.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 57.3 in February after jumping to 56.4 in January. Economists had expected the index to dip to 55.5.
With the unexpected increase, the consumer sentiment index reached its highest level since hitting 58.2 in August 2025.
The unexpected uptick by the consumer sentiment index came as sentiment surged among consumers with the largest stock portfolios.
The rebound by the broader markets comes despite a steep drop by shares of Amazon (AMZN), with the online retail giant plunging by 8.0 percent.
Amazon is under pressure after reporting slightly weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecasting 2026 capital spending well above analyst estimates.
Sector News
Airline stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 5.6 percent to its best intraday level in over three years.
A sharp increase by the price of gold is also contributing to significant strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 5.1 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks are also regaining ground following recent weakness, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 4.5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
Oil service, brokerage and networking stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are little changed after ending the previous session sharply higher. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by less than a basis point at 4.214 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Showing Strong Move Back To The Upside, Dow Reaches Record High
2026-02-06 16:08:47
