NEW YORK, Feb 6, 2026, 17:02 EST — Trading after the bell.
- Dow hits a milestone, ending above 50,000 for the first time ever and logging a record close.
- Chipmakers jumped, lifted by bets on big AI data-center budgets. Amazon, though, fell after outlining its own spending plans.
- Next week brings the delayed U.S. jobs report, along with rescheduled inflation figures—now where traders are turning their attention.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finally cracked 50,000 on Friday, closing at 50,115.67 for a 2.47% jump as chip stocks drove a rally. Nvidia surged 7.8%, fueling moves in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Amazon dropped 5.6%. Molina Healthcare shares plunged 25.5% after the company issued a weaker outlook for 2026. “There’s enough evidence that there’s real demand for AI products,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird. 1
Tech, and software in particular, has taken some hits lately. Investors are recalibrating, with cheaper, more powerful AI tools fueling those fears. The S&P 500 software and services index logged another drop Thursday, now down roughly $1 trillion in value since Jan. 28—a rout traders are calling “software-mageddon.” “I would classify this as a sell-everything mindset at this point,” said Dave Harrison Smith, chief investment officer and head of technology investing at Bailard. 2
Big Tech’s capex plans are sparking nerves. Amazon is eyeing about $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, a jump from $131 billion expected in 2025, and shares slid as the hefty spending plan landed with a thud—even as cloud revenue stays resilient. Capital expenditures—capex—cover pricey bets like data centers and custom chips. “The market just dislikes the substantial amount of money that keeps getting put into capex for these growth rates,” said Dave Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. 3
The Dow climbed as high as 50,052 during the afternoon, but later pulled back. Nvidia, Caterpillar, and Goldman Sachs did plenty of the heavy lifting. Because the 30-stock Dow is price-weighted, those higher-priced shares pack more punch—unlike the S&P 500’s market-cap approach. Lately, that’s given the edge to industrials and other cyclical stocks. 4
Beyond the stock market, risk appetite brushed up against an economy still throwing off conflicting signals. Early February data from the University of Michigan put consumer sentiment at 57.3, a level not seen since last August. Even so, the survey noted that nerves around job security and higher living costs—some of it driven by tariffs—haven’t let up. “Concerns about the erosion of personal finances from high prices and elevated risk of job loss continue to be widespread,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers. 5
Federal Reserve officials are still sorting out whether the labor market is merely cooling off or heading for trouble. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly described the outlook as “precarious,” citing the chance that today’s “low-hiring, low-firing” environment could quickly change if companies grow more cautious, especially with inflation still above the Fed’s 2% target. Capital Economics’ Thomas Ryan flagged that falling job openings “may concern Fed officials,” but he urged not to read too much into it just yet, since layoffs are still subdued. 6
Heading into the week, the market’s AI trade faces a test: can it hold up without new jitters about costs and returns? Investors are dredging up dot-com-era parallels as hyperscalers shift from asset-light strategies to heftier capital spending, and analysts at MoffettNathanson caution that yes, demand looks genuine—though “the margin of error is shrinking.” 7
Some releases got bumped around after the partial U.S. government shutdown, leaving next week’s data schedule looking unusually jumbled. The Bureau of Labor Statistics now says the January employment report lands next Wednesday, while January’s CPI follows on Friday. The December job openings numbers? Those will drop this Thursday instead. 8
Those timing shifts are key—traders have been zeroing in on fresh data to gauge rate moves after a stretch of wild swings in growth stocks. The jobs report lands Feb. 11, followed quickly by the CPI on Feb. 13. That’s labor and inflation numbers hitting in rapid succession, with markets already on edge over AI spending. 9
Looking past the immediate earnings, the Fed’s March 17–18 meeting looms as the next big policy marker, with investors eyeing any tweak in rhetoric around inflation and labor-market risks. Until then, whether the Dow can hold its latest milestone hinges on next week’s jobs and inflation data supporting hopes for a slowdown that doesn’t derail growth. 10
