Volatile Week Drives Dow to New Milestone:
Stocks were mixed last week, with gains on Monday and Friday offset by midweek selling as investors evaluated earnings reports from over 100 S&P 500 companies.
The S&P 500 Index ended the week roughly where it started, slipping 0.10%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.84%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.50%. By contrast, the MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, rose 0.49%.1,2
Source: Bloomberg Finance, L.P. (Performance data normalized 1/30/26 = 0)
Dow 50,000
Stocks bounded out of the gate on Monday with the Dow leading a broad rise across all three major averages. Markets rose in anticipation of a big week for Q4 corporate reports.3
Market sentiment quickly changed on Tuesday as anxious investors appeared to rotate out of technology names and into cyclical areas of the economy more likely to rebound with an improving economy.
News on Wednesday that private-sector job growth slowed in January added to investor anxiety. Stocks fell again on Thursday, with the S&P 500 briefly going negative year-to-date.4,5
Then things turned around.
Stocks rebounded broadly on Friday as investors appeared to “buy the dip.” The Dow led, closing above the 50,000 level for the first time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed back above 23,000, while the S&P gained 2%. The latest University of Michigan survey showed consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in six months, helping buoy investor sentiment.6
Sources: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Charles Schwab
Fed Watch: Jobs Data
The brief government shutdown that ended last week delayed several economic reports. The federal employment report for January, originally due out on February 6, has been delayed until Wednesday, February 11.
But payroll processor ADP reported on Wednesday that private employers added 22,000 jobs in January—about half of the 45,000 expected. Then, on Thursday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that companies cut more than 108,000 jobs in January—the highest number of layoffs of any January since 2009.7,8
Investors tried to reconcile the reports with the Fed’s January post-meeting statement, which read, “Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace. Job gains have remained low, and the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization. Inflation remains somewhat elevated.”9
This Week: Key Economic Data
Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.
This Week: Companies Reporting Earnings
Source: EarningsWhispers
Author
Gary Aiken
Chief Investment Officer
Concord Asset Management
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Footnotes and Sources
1WSJ.com, February 6, 2026
2Investing.com, February 6, 2026
3CNBC.com, February 2, 2026
4CNBC.com, February 4, 2026
5CNBC.com, February 5, 2026
6WSJ.com, February 6, 2026
7CNBC.com, February 4, 2026
8CNBC.com, February 5, 2026
9CNBC.com, January 28, 2026
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