After moving sharply lower over the past few sessions, stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside during trading on Friday. The major averages all showed substantial upward moves, with the Dow closing above 50,000 for the first time.
The major averages reached new highs late in the session before giving back some ground going into the end of the day. The Dow soared 1,206.95 points or 2.5 percent to 50,115.67, the Nasdaq surged 490.63 points or 2.2 percent to 23,031.21 and the S&P 500 jumped 133.90 points or 2.0 percent to 6,932.30.
For the week, the Dow shot up by 2.5 percent, while the S&P 500 edged down by 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq slumped by 1.8 percent.
The rally on Wall Street largely reflected bargain hunting, as some traders looked 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 came despite a steep drop by shares of Amazon (AMZN), with the online retail giant plunging by 5.6 percent.
Amazon came under pressure after reporting slightly weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecasting 2026 capital spending well above analyst estimates.
Sector News
Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 7.1 percent to its best closing level in over three years.
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also moved sharply higher following recent weakness, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up by 6.8 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
A sharp increase by the price of gold also contributed to significant strength among gold stocks, as reflected by the 5.5 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Networking, financial and oil service stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, 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 all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index jumped by 0.9 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction after ending the previous session sharply higher. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.206 percent.
Looking Ahead
Next week’s trading may be impacted by reaction to the delayed monthly jobs report along with reports on retail sales and consumer prices.
Business News
Dow Closes Above 50,000 For First Time As Stocks Rebound From Recent Slump
2026-02-06 21:16:49
