Dow Jones and Nasdaq Index: US 30 Hits Record as Chip Stocks Lead Stock Market

Wall Street Bounces Hard, But the Big Questions Haven’t Gone Away

Stocks surged Friday, with the Dow rocketing over 1,000 points and hitting a fresh all-time high. The S&P 500 jumped 1.7%, and the Nasdaq climbed 2% as bargain-hunters piled into beaten-down chip stocks and Big Tech names that got crushed earlier in the week.

Nvidia shot up 7%, Broadcom gained 7%, and AMD jumped 7.5%. Super Micro popped nearly 10%. After days of relentless selling, buyers finally stepped in — though it’s worth noting they waited until things got cheap.

The Dow turned positive for the week and led the charge, up 2.1% on the day. Small caps rallied hard too, with the Russell 2000 up 3%.

Nine of eleven sectors posted gains, and the semiconductor index jumped 4.6%. But even with the bounce, the S&P 500 is still on track for a weekly decline, and the Nasdaq’s down about 2% for the week.

Amazon’s the Outlier — and It’s a Big One

Amazon dropped 5% after forecasting a 50%-plus jump in capex this year — $200 billion earmarked for AI infrastructure. That’s on top of the spending spree already underway at Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta. The market’s trying to square near-term cash burn with the promise of long-term payoff, and right now, it’s not convinced.

The “Magnificent Seven” were mixed. Alphabet fell 3%, Tesla rose 3%, and Nvidia — the last of the group yet to report — jumped 7%. Software names like CrowdStrike and Palantir rebounded after getting hammered all week, but Salesforce and ServiceNow stayed weak. The fear that AI tools could disrupt traditional software businesses hasn’t disappeared.

Rotation’s Real — Value and Cyclicals Are Getting the Bids

Money’s moving. Industrials and financials rallied, with Caterpillar up 6% and Goldman Sachs up 4%. Small and mid-caps outperformed, and the Russell 2000 is on track for its best week since late November. Defensive sectors like consumer staples and telecoms have been absorbing flows all week as traders rotate out of growth.

This isn’t just a one-day move. The AI trade — one of the biggest engines of last year’s rally — is facing a real stress test. Bitcoin’s down 50% from its October peak, and the volatility index, though lower Friday, is still elevated. Investors are pulling back from risky assets and reassessing what works.

Sentiment’s Fragile — Friday’s Rally Doesn’t Solve the Bigger Problem

Even with Friday’s pop, the S&P 500 was headed for its worst week since late December. The Nasdaq was on track for its steepest weekly loss since November. The concerns driving the selloff — soaring AI capex, uncertain returns, software disruption risk — aren’t short-term issues. They’re longer-term questions that won’t get resolved in a day.

Earnings have been solid. About 80% of S&P 500 companies have beaten expectations, well above the typical 67% rate. But the market’s not rewarding beats the way it used to. It’s asking harder questions about where all this spending leads.

What Happens Next?

Buyers showed up Friday, but they’re not all-in. The Dow’s strong, small caps are rallying, and value’s outperforming — all signs of rotation, not capitulation. The question is whether this bounce has legs, or if it’s just a breather before the next wave of selling.

The market wants to believe the AI story, but it’s demanding proof. Until that proof shows up, expect more of these ebbs and flows. Friday was a win, but it didn’t change the bigger picture.

More Information in our Economic Calendar.