U.S. stocks staged a powerful rebound on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through the historic 50,000-point threshold, marking its largest single-day gain since May of last year. Former President Donald Trump quickly credited this milestone to his tariff policies and projected that the Dow would reach 100,000 points before the conclusion of his potential term.
On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social, stating that experts had once considered it a significant achievement if he could push the Dow to 50,000 by the end of his term, but he accomplished this goal three years ahead of schedule. He urged voters to remember this ahead of the midterm elections and warned that the Democratic Party would "destroy the economy."
The former President attributed the Dow's new record to "great tariffs," claiming they have driven record stock market performance and enhanced national security. In a subsequent post, he wrote: "I predict the Dow Jones will hit 100,000 before my term ends. Remember, Trump is right about everything! I hope the U.S. Supreme Court is watching." The latter comment appeared to reference the Supreme Court's pending ruling on the legality of his proposed broad tariffs on foreign goods.
Technology stocks led the market's strong rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,206 points, or 2.5%, closing at 50,115.67, outperforming other major indices. The S&P 500 rose 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.25%.
Robust performances from semiconductor manufacturers fueled the rally. NVIDIA soared 7.8%, narrowing its weekly losses, and Broadcom surged 7.1%. These stocks contributed significantly to the S&P 500's gains as investors bet that customers will continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence technology.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated late Thursday that the company expects to invest approximately $200 billion this year to capitalize on "major opportunities in AI, chips, robotics, and low-earth orbit satellites." Alphabet, Google's parent company, also indicated it would increase spending on artificial intelligence technologies.
Earlier in the week, however, U.S. stock investors faced considerable pressure, with the Nasdaq falling for three consecutive sessions as software stocks and some AI-related tech giants experienced significant declines. Friday's strong rebound signaled a notable shift in market sentiment, with technology stocks recovering most of their weekly losses. This marked the best single trading day for U.S. stocks since May of last year.