The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 50,000 – The Dow closed above 50,000 for the first time in history. Stocks were sharply lower earlier in the week but surged on Friday as corporate earnings overall beat expectations and Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, who is expected to replace Jerome Powell in May if confirmed, also made comments expressing support for substantially lower interest rates once inflation continues to moderate.
Stock markets – After two years of incredible gains in the tech sector that propelled the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P stocks, financials, industrials, and “old-economy” Dow stocks led the surge this week. Some large software companies came under pressure as investors expressed concern that artificial intelligence could make certain traditional software platforms less valuable, while technology hardware companies performed well as demand continues to grow for the chips, servers, and infrastructure needed to power AI. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 50,115.67, up 2.5% from 48,897.47 last week. It is already up 4.3% year-to-date from 48,063.29 on December 31, 2025. The S&P 500 closed the week at 6,932.30, down 0.1% from 6,939.03 last week. The S&P is up 1.3% year-to-date from 6,845.50 on December 31, 2025. The Nasdaq closed the week at 23,031.63, down 1.8% from 23,461.82 last week. It is down 0.9% year-to-date from 23,241.99 on December 31, 2025.
The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 4.22%, down from 4.26% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 4.85%, down slightly from 4.87% last week. We watch bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yields.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics has delayed the January jobs report. The January jobs report, which was scheduled to be released yesterday, was delayed due to the partial government shutdown and will now be released next Wednesday. Investors are preparing for a weaker report. ADP, the country’s largest payroll company, estimated last Wednesday that just 22,000 new jobs were created, well below the 44,000 expected. The current environment in many ways resembles the late-1990s expansion, with a somewhat softer labor market but a very strong economy supported by solid consumer spending.
Mortgage rates – Every Thursday, Freddie Mac publishes interest rates based on a survey of mortgage lenders throughout the week. The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that mortgage rates for the most popular loan products as of February 5, 2026 were as follows: The 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.11%, nearly unchanged from 6.1% last week. The 15-year fixed was 5.5 %, nearly unchanged from 5.49% last week.
The graph below shows the trajectory of mortgage rates over the past year.
Have a Great Weekend!