Dow hits record as funds rotate from chip to health, finance
Dow closed at a record 51,562.16, up 875.09 points, after Broadcom’s revenue miss pressured chip stocks and investors bought healthcare and financial shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record 51,562.16 on Thursday, rising 875.09 points, or 1.73%. The S&P 500 gained 0.41% to 7,584.82, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.07% to 26,834.26.
Broadcom’s fiscal second-quarter revenue fell short of expectations, triggering losses across the semiconductor sector. Broadcom shares plunged, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF declined nearly 2%, and Arm Holdings, Micron Technology and Qualcomm fell. Marvell Technology posted gains. CrowdStrike’s stock moved lower after the cybersecurity firm reported higher quarterly operating expenses.
UnitedHealth Group was a major contributor to the Dow’s advance after Bank of America upgraded the insurer to Buy; UnitedHealth rose more than 5%. Financial stocks recovered from earlier losses: JPMorgan Chase gained about 4%, and Blackstone climbed after capping withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund following a rise in redemption requests.
Retail and healthcare names drew buying interest. Walmart added around 1%, Costco rose just over 1%, and Eli Lilly jumped more than 5%. Market activity reflected a shift of funds away from AI-focused chip names and into healthcare, financials and select consumer stocks.
Developments in the Middle East included the U.S. House passing a measure that would limit the president’s ability to extend military action against Iran and a U.S.-mediated ceasefire proposal between Israel and Lebanon that was rejected by Hezbollah. Front-month crude oil futures fell on expectations that tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could normalize.
Economic data were mixed. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose 6.1%. First-quarter labor costs and productivity were revised lower. Announced U.S. employer layoffs increased 11% in May to 97,006, with nearly 40% of those reductions attributed to automation and artificial intelligence.
SpaceX began its investor roadshow ahead of a planned June 12 market debut, seeking to raise about $75 billion and implying a valuation near $1.75 trillion.
The trading session showed a split between large technology stocks tied to artificial intelligence, which limited gains on the Nasdaq, and advances in healthcare, financials and some consumer names that helped push the Dow to its record close.
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