Dow Jones Industrials Cross 50000 for First Time

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Alex Ossola (0:33)

The Dow soars and crosses over 50,000 for the first time. Plus, Y Japan's first female prime minister is betting her seat on a snap election.

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The goal is to get a big majority for the coalition. I think she'd be even happier if she could get a big majority for her ruling party alone, which some of the polls suggest that she could. The opposition is somewhat fragmented, somewhat divided. All the polls are pointing to a landslide for her.

Alex Ossola (0:57)

And American athletes at this year's Winter Olympics will get something they've never been given before, a retirement nest egg. It's Friday, February 6th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

The Dow today hit a new milestone, crossing 50,000 for the first time. It's only been about a year and a half since it crossed 40,000, making this the fastest 10,000-point milestone on record. The Journal's David Uberti says a lot of that was because of the success of the tech sector.

David Uberti (1:35)

Despite some fits and starts here and there, the line has basically gone up and to the right. There's been basically a continuous rally into US stocks over the last 10 to 15 years, in part because of this tech boom that we've had out of Silicon Valley, which has really accelerated in recent years with the growth of AI. So now we're hitting 50,000. And what that says is that America and the American economy has basically created this giant sucking sound of investment flowing in to U.S.-based companies, particularly tech stocks.

Alex Ossola (2:06)

But David says that the Dow in particular is bigger than tech.

David Uberti (2:09)

So when investors are sort of evaluating these stock indexes as economic indicators, not just market snapshots, many of them choose to look at the Dow as a source of evidence of how the general economy is doing. The makers and takers of goods, logistics firms, airlines, manufacturers, media properties, etc., how they are all doing vis-à-vis some of these tech names, which tend to drive the NASDAQ and S&P in a more volatile way. The Dow doesn't capture the full weight of the AI boom in some respects. But on the other hand, it might be a more accurate representation of what is actually happening in the US economy.

Alex Ossola (2:49)

WSJ Markets reporter Jack Pitcher says the relief rally today, after this week's tech sell-off, helped lift the Dow, which closed up 2.5% at 50,116.

Jack Pitcher (3:00)

We actually had a pretty volatile week. There was a big tech sell-off, especially software-related companies. The Dow has less software exposure, it fared better, and has been hanging out just below record high for quite a while. And then today we've had a relief rally across markets. We're seeing tech come back a little bit, including Nvidia. Nvidia is now a component of the Dow that's been helping drive things higher. So are industrial stalwarts like Caterpillar and 3M.

Alex Ossola (3:29)

There were big gains in the other indexes today, too. The NASDAQ climbed 2.2 percent, while the S&P ended up 2 percent. One piece of news that might be making investors feel optimistic? The closely watched Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan climbed for February, though economists had expected a slight decline. The survey's director said the public still remains anxious about inflation and a weaker labor market. Speaking of jobs, whether you're hiring, firing, looking for a promotion or a new job, we'd love to hear your thoughts and questions about the labor market. Email us a voice memo to wnpod at wsj.com, or leave us a message at 212-416-4328. Make sure to include your full name and location so we can use your comments on the show. According to a securities filing released today, Amazon's US corporate income taxes fell to $1.2 billion last year from $9 billion in 2024, even as its domestic profit before taxes rose by more than 44% to $89.5 billion. It's one of the clearest examples yet of how big American companies are benefiting from Republicans' new tax law. Amazon says that Congress made the law to encourage greater investment in the US economy and that due to Amazon's unprecedented US investments, our tax bill this year reflects those changes. We're exclusively reporting that the Justice Department's investigation into Netflix's $72 billion Warner deal is casting a wide net on Netflix business practices. The department is asking if Netflix has acted in a way that could make it a monopoly. The journal viewed a civil subpoena that the DOJ sent another entertainment company. A lawyer for Netflix says the company thinks the Justice Department is conducting a standard deal review. The Justice Department is also reviewing Paramount's bid, which Warner has told its shareholders to reject. Paramount says its offer provides investors with greater value and a more certain path to completion than the Netflix deal. The DOJ declined to comment.