WSJ： Tech-Stock Recovery Fuels Dow Record Quick

Summary
The stock market continued its rebound, with the Dow industrials reaching a new closing record of 50135.87, and the Nasdaq composite closing up 0.9%.
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The stock-market rebound kept rolling on Monday, extending the ride that took the Dow industrials to a record 50000 Friday after a steep selloff early last week.

Technology stocks led the way higher as investors bought into both software companies and artificial-intelligence giants that were beaten up in last week’s downturn. The Nasdaq composite closed up 0.9%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished less than 0.1% higher at a new closing record, 50135.87.“It’s a bounce back from the extreme selloff we saw in software based on a foregone conclusion that AI would be the end of software,” said David Miller, chief investment officer for Catalyst Mutual Funds. “Software names were being valued as if they had no terminal value even though many of them are growing at a healthy clip.”

Shares of Ciena, a provider of high-speed networks and related software, jumped 6.8%, while game maker Take-Two Interactive Software gained 4.8% and business-software developer ServiceNow climbed 3.1%.

Investors also bought into stocks of companies tied to the AI build-out that were battered in recent weeks by concerns about excessive capital expenditures. Oracle shares, which plummeted last week and shaved billions of dollars off the net worth of founder Larry Ellison, jumped 9.6%, its biggest one-day gain since September.

Some analysts saw the software company in a more positive light because of clarity about the finances of its biggest AI partner, OpenAI.“We believe OpenAI already has as much as $40B of cash on hand and may be raising as much as another $100B by the end of the quarter, which should help pay for the data centers Oracle is building for OpenAI,” wrote D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria, who upgraded Oracle stock to buy.

Still, advancing stocks only narrowly outnumbered decliners in the S&P 500 reflecting uncertainty about whether the selloff is over or just taking a pause.“It’s key to keep in mind that some of the best days for sectors or indexes tend to happen in the midst of severe drawdowns, so investors should use an extra dose of caution,” said Kevin Gordon, head of macro research and strategy at Charles Schwab.

Some investors also bought Treasury bonds, often viewed as a haven in turbulent times. The yield of the 10-year note declined 0.008 percentage point to 4.197%. Bond prices rise when yields fall.In global markets, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 3.9% to a record after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a decisive victory in snap parliamentary elections. The yen strengthened and bond yields rose.

Bitcoin recovered a bit from Friday to trade near $70,754, but moves were comparatively muted after recent dramatic swings.

Investors will get some important economic insights this week. Readouts will include the delayed January jobs report, due Wednesday, following alternative data pointing to weakness in the labor market.