The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday virtually unchanged, rising just 0.02% to close at 49,609.16, as a powerful rally in technology stocks propelled the broader market to new records. The S&P 500 advanced 0.84% to 7,398.93, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 1.71% to 26,247.08, both closing at all-time highs.
The divergence between the blue-chip Dow and the tech-heavy indexes highlights a narrowing market breadth that has caught the attention of Wall Street analysts. While the Dow, with its price-weighted structure and just 30 components, lagged, semiconductor and AI-related stocks drove the major benchmarks to fresh peaks.
The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 115,000 in April, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Gains were concentrated in health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail trade. The data helped ease recession fears but did not shift expectations for Federal Reserve policy; traders continue to anticipate that the central bank will hold interest rates steady for the foreseeable future.
Within the Dow, Cisco, Boeing, UnitedHealth, Apple, and Nvidia posted gains, but weakness in McDonald’s, Salesforce, Home Depot, and JPMorgan Chase capped the index’s performance. Salesforce fell 2.56%, and McDonald’s dropped 3.02%, weighing heavily on the blue-chip gauge.
Outside the Dow, technology shares outperformed broadly. Nvidia climbed 1.8%, while Micron Technology and Sandisk both surged approximately 12% as investors chased semiconductor stocks amid sustained demand for AI data center infrastructure.
“Hard to wreck” is how Rob Williams, chief investment strategist at Sage Advisory Services, described the U.S. economy in comments to Reuters, citing solid productivity, robust consumer spending, healthy household wealth, and steady corporate earnings. At RBC Capital Markets, analysts raised their S&P 500 year-end target to 7,900 from 7,750, citing upbeat earnings and continued momentum in AI-related stocks.
For the week, the Dow posted a modest gain of 0.22%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each recorded their sixth consecutive weekly advance, according to Reuters data on MarketScreener.
Underlying concerns persist, however. The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for May fell to 48.2, down from April’s 49.8, as respondents cited expensive goods, high gasoline prices, and tariffs as weighing on their outlook. Joanne Hsu, who oversees the Surveys of Consumers, noted that shoppers continue to feel “buffeted by cost pressures,” with gas prices leading the list. The survey showed consumers now expect inflation at 4.5% for the year ahead, a slight easing from 4.7% but still elevated relative to pre-pandemic levels.
Looking ahead, the Dow could face headwinds if oil prices remain elevated. Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, told Reuters that prolonged high oil prices risk undermining both consumer confidence and spending, which could keep the Fed from cutting rates and pressure rate-sensitive sectors such as banks, retailers, and industrials.
Investors, as reflected in Friday’s trading, continued to favor companies with strong earnings growth, particularly those tied to semiconductors and the artificial intelligence theme, even as the Dow’s performance underscored the market’s uneven leadership.
