Dow Closes Over 50,000 For The First Time, S&P 500 Edges Higher Amid Tech Revival: NVDA, AVGO, AMD, CAT In Focus

• Concerns over capital expenditures from big technology companies have been weighing down on the market. 
• Labor market concerns have also weighed down on stocks, with Challenger, Gray & Christmas saying U.S. employers cut 108,435 jobs in January.
• Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang commented on artificial intelligence demand on Friday, saying it is “sky high.”

U.S. stocks rallied on Friday amid a recovery in technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) added over 1,206 points, pushing past the 50,000 level in a record high. The benchmark index closed over 2.4% higher at 50,115.67.

Meanwhile, the S&P 50 gained 1.97% to close at 6,932.30, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 2.18%.

The indexes edged higher due to a recovery in tech stocks after steep declines over the past week.

AI Capex Worries

In recent days, concerns over capital expenditures from big technology companies have been weighing down on the market.

Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon Inc. (AMZN) have been slipping lower since the company announced its fourth-quarter (Q4) 2025 earnings results on Thursday, and disclosed a capex of $200 billion for 2026, up from about $130 billion reported in 2025.

Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) said it expects capex for 2026 to be between $175 billion and $185 billion, and Meta Platforms Inc. (META) also increased its capex for 2026 considerably, within a range of $115 billion to $135 billion.

Labor Market Concerns

Labor market concerns also weighed down on stocks. Although the January jobs report is delayed due to a partial government shutdown, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S. employers cut 108,435 jobs during the month, levels not seen since 2009.

The firm also said hiring plans fell to 5,306. Layoffs were led by transportation and technology, with major cuts announced by Amazon in recent weeks.

Stocks In Focus

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares of NVDA surged over 8.6% on Friday and closed 7.87% higher after CEO Jensen Huang commented on artificial intelligence demand, saying it is “sky high.”

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL): Other chip manufacturers also got a boost from Huang’s optimism for AI demand. Shares of AVGO were up over 7.2%, AMD stock surged over 8.3%, and MRVL shares climbed up 8.19%.

Oracle Corp. (ORCL),  Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Shares of technology companies Oracle and Palantir gained over 4.8% and 4.7%, respectively.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT): Shares of CAT rose over 7%, contributing to the larger gains in stock indexes, as it climbed over continued optimism for its record Q4 revenues and backlog.

Meanwhile, on Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was in the ‘bearish’ territory amid ‘high’ message volumes.

SPY closed 1.92% higher, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) was up 2.11% at market close. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) ended 2.48% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 (NDX) closed up 2.15%.

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up by 0.07% at Friday’s close.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Also Read: NVDA Shares Rally As Huang Says Demand For AI Is ‘Sky High’

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