The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time ever on Friday, marking a significant milestone in the stock market. This achievement comes after a five-week win streak fueled by optimism surrounding potential rate cuts and mostly positive quarterly earnings reports from major corporations. At the end of the trading day at 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 135 points, or 0.3%, closing at a record high of 40,003.59. The S&P 500 also saw gains of 0.2%, while the NASDAQ Composite experienced a slight decline of 0.1%.
Several major companies made headlines with their quarterly earnings reports. Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (NASDAQ:TTWO) saw a slight increase of over 1% despite lowering its bookings guidance for 2025 due to the delayed release of the Grand Theft Auto game. Doximity Inc (NYSE:DOCS) surged more than 18% after surpassing expectations with its fiscal fourth-quarter results and announcing a $500 million stock buyback program. Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) also gained over 1% following reports that Microsoft plans to offer AMD chips to its cloud customers, impacting Nvidia's stock performance. On the other hand, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 2% after the news.
Market Reactions
GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) experienced a significant drop of 20% after revealing plans to sell up to 45 million shares in an at-the-market offering and reporting lower-than-expected first-quarter results. Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) saw a 10% increase in its stock price after partnering with artificial intelligence major OpenAI to integrate its content into AI products. Boeing (NYSE:BA) also saw a 1% increase ahead of a shareholder vote on whether outgoing Chief Executive David Calhoun will retain his seat on the board.
Despite the recent market highs, several Federal Reserve officials have expressed caution regarding potential rate cuts. Fed Gov. Bowman stated that the central bank still needed more confidence to make a decision on interest rates, emphasizing the importance of monitoring data to evaluate policy effectiveness. Bowman mentioned the possibility of raising the federal funds rate in the future if inflation progress stalls or reverses.
The stock market's performance this week has been mixed, with record highs for some indices and caution from Fed officials regarding interest rate decisions. The outlook for the market moving forward remains uncertain, as economic data continues to play a crucial role in shaping future monetary policy. Investors will be closely watching upcoming reports and announcements to gauge the market direction in the coming weeks.