Dow Reclaims 50,000 as S&P 500 and Nasdaq Post Fresh Records

CNBC reported Thursday that Wall Street delivered another record-breaking session, with the S&P 500 record high above 7,500 marking a milestone never previously reached. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also reclaimed the psychologically significant 50,000 level, closing up roughly 370 points on the day.

Records Stack Up Across Major Indexes

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8% on Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9% to close at an all-time high of its own. The Dow finished the session 0.8% higher. Overnight futures were largely flat in early Friday trading. Nasdaq 100 futures edged up 0.03%, while Dow and S&P 500 futures each dipped fractionally.

The weekly picture is equally striking. The S&P 500 is on course for its seventh consecutive winning week, a run not seen since a nine-week streak that ended in late 2023. The Nasdaq is also tracking a seventh straight positive week for the first time since October 2024.

A Rally Built on Narrow Foundations

Despite the headline numbers, some market observers are sounding a note of caution. Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services, told CNBC’s Closing Bell: Overtime that the so-called broadening trade has largely stalled. He noted that softer economic conditions are showing up in mid- and small-cap segments, while a handful of mega-cap technology companies continue to pull the major indexes higher. The implication is that the rally may be more fragile than the index levels suggest.

Geopolitics and Corporate News Add to the Mix

Investors are also closely tracking the ongoing summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two-day meeting covers trade policy, tariffs, Taiwan, and Iran. One concrete outcome emerged Thursday, with both sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to shipping. The summit concludes Friday.

On the corporate front, SpaceX is reportedly planning to release its IPO prospectus as early as next week, following a confidential filing submitted in April. The listing is widely expected to rank among the largest public offerings on record. Separately, AI chipmaker Cerebras saw its shares extend post-debut gains in after-hours trading, rising around 5%. Semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials also climbed roughly 2% after hours, following a fiscal second-quarter earnings beat on both revenue and profit.

Asian markets struggled to keep pace on Friday. South Korea’s Kospi retreated 1.35% after briefly topping 8,000, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%.

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