Dow Crosses 50,000 For the First Time

Specialist Anthony Matesic works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

U.S. stocks surged Friday as a rebound in technology shares and a sharp recovery in bitcoin helped stabilize markets after a bruising week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1,101 points, or 2.3%, climbing above the 50,000 mark for the first time in its history and moving into positive territory for the week.

The rally extended across major indexes. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.9%. Even with Friday’s gains, the S&P 500 was still modestly lower on the week, and the Nasdaq remained down roughly 2%, due to continued pressure on technology stocks earlier in the week. The Dow, however, was up about 2% week to date, aided by strength in more cyclical sectors.

Several major tech names bounced sharply after steep declines. NVIDIA and Broadcom each climbed about 7%, while Oracle rose 3% and Palantir Technologies added roughly 4%. Some software stocks tied to artificial intelligence concerns continued to lag.

Outside of tech, investors rotated into industrials and financials. Caterpillar surged 6%, while Goldman Sachs gained 4%, helping fuel the Dow’s outperformance. Small-cap stocks also rallied, with the Russell 2000 up 3%.

Bitcoin rebounded alongside equities, rising 10% to move back above $70,000 after briefly falling below $61,000 overnight. Despite the bounce, the cryptocurrency remains sharply lower on the week.

Not all stocks joined the rally. Amazon slid 7% after posting earnings slightly below expectations and projecting $200 billion in capital expenditures for the year.

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