The New York stock market continued its upward trend on the 9th (local time), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average set a new all-time high for two consecutive trading days. Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), is watching the closing ceremony wearing a hat with the phrase ‘Dow 50,000’ engraved on it on the 6th. AP Newsis
NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged to a record close on February 9th, marking its second consecutive all-time high, while tech stocks also generally climbed. Is this rally sustainable, or are we looking at a correction?
Value Stocks Steady as Dow Reaches New Heights
Despite a slight slowdown in the rise of value stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued its upward trajectory, hitting a new all-time high.
The Dow closed at 50,135.87, up 20.20 points (0.04%) from the previous day. Broadly, market conditions remain positive, as reflected in the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500, which finished at 6964.82, a gain of 32.51 points (0.47%), inching closer to the 7,000 mark.
Tech Sector Fuels Gains
Technology stocks led the charge, particularly those linked to artificial intelligence (AI). Nvidia, Tesla, Oracle, and Palantir all saw significant gains during trading on February 9th. The Nasdaq, heavily weighted toward technology, experienced the largest increase among the three major indices, rising 207.46 points (0.90%) to 23,238.67.
Best Streak Ever
As Big Tech struggled and large value stocks emerged as leading stocks, the Dow index set a new all-time high for two consecutive days on the 6th.
The Russell 2000, comprised of 2,000 small-cap stocks, also demonstrated strength, closing at 2689.05, up 18.71 points (0.80%). Investor anxiety, as measured by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX), or “Wall Street Fear Index,” decreased, falling 0.40 points (2.25%) to 17.36.
Big Tech Companies See Mixed Results
Several big tech companies enjoyed substantial gains. Nvidia rose $4.63 (2.50%) to end trading at $190.04, while Tesla closed at $417.32, up $6.21 (1.51%). Palantir saw a jump of $7.01 (5.16%), closing at $142.91, and Alphabet increased by $1.46 (0.45%) to $324.32.
However, Apple and Amazon were the exceptions, experiencing slight declines. Apple fell $3.24 (1.17%) to $274.62, and Amazon dropped $1.60 (0.76%) to $208.72.
Oracle experienced a particularly sharp increase, soaring $13.77 (9.64%) to $156.59, despite being down more than 52% from its all-time high of $328.33 recorded in September of last year. The stock had previously faced criticism regarding its debt and reliance on OpenAI, which remains unprofitable.
Semiconductor Sector: Joy and Sorrow
Semiconductor stocks were generally strong amid the rise of Nvidia, but Micron fell nearly 3%.
Micron plunged $11.19 (2.84%) to $383.50 following news that Samsung Electronics will supply HBM4 (6th generation high bandwidth memory) as early as this month, raising concerns about competition. Conversely, AMD soared $7.56 (3.63%) to $216.00, and Broadcom rose $11.02 (3.31%) to $343.94.
Worth a look
