LIVE MARKETS-US stocks rally as Dow vaults over 50k for first time

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

US STOCKS RALLY AS DOW VAULTS OVER 50K FOR FIRST TIME

U.S. stocks rallied to close out the trading week, with the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC each snapping three-session skids, while the Dow .DJI managed to close above the 50,000 mark for the first time.

Markets have been grappling with concerns over massive spending by companies in the race for AI dominance, while other areas such as software have been clipped by worries the emerging technology will severely dent profits or even act as a replacement.

But after reaching oversold levels according to some technical metrics, stocks ended the week with a flourish, as chip stocks surged on expectations they will largely benefit from the AI infrastructure spending.

Nvidia NVDA.O and Broadcom AVGO.O jumped more than 7% each as the biggest boosts to the benchmark S&P index, helping to push the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX up 5.7% on the day, its biggest daily percentage climb since May 12.

In contrast, Amazon.com AMZN.O dropped 5.6%, capping gains across the three major indexes as investors were unnerved by its projected surge of more than 50% in capital expenditures this year.

While the focus was on tech for much of the week, the market continues to broaden out, with the Russell 2000 .RUT surging 3.6% on Friday and nine of the 11 major S&P sectors ending higher on the day. The Dow Transports .DJT, S&P Mid Cap 400 .MID, S&P Small Cap 600 .SPCY, S&P 500 Industrials .SPLRCI, consumer staples .SPLRCS, energy .SPNY, S&P 500 value .IVX and the equal-weighted S&P 500 .SPXEW all closed at record highs.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.4-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 4.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.84%, and the Dow climbed 2.5%.

Below is your closing market snapshot:

(Chuck Mikolajczak)

EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

US PROFIT GROWTH LOOKING BRIGHTER DESPITE SHARE WEAKNESS THIS WEEK CLICK HERE

INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR NEUTRAL SENTIMENT HIGHEST IN MORE THAN A YEAR - AAII CLICK HERE

BOUNCING CLICK HERE

HINDENBURG RETURNS TO NASDAQ CLICK HERE

AI FEARS SHAKE UP EUROPEAN TECH, BUT OPPORTUNITIES ARE EMERGING CLICK HERE

TECH TAKES CENTER STAGE AMID THE MARKET'S RECENT RISK-OFF ROUT CLICK HERE

BANK OF AMERICA SAYS: 'STAY LONG DETROIT, SHORT DAVOS' CLICK HERE

BOE, ECB SET POUND AND EURO ON DIVERGENT PATHS CLICK HERE

EUROPE GETS A LIFT FROM DEFENCE, BUT AUTOS, AI-VULNERABLE SHARES FALL AGAIN CLICK HERE

FED UNDER PRESSURE AS LAYOFFS MOUNT CLICK HERE