A trader works as the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpasses the 50,000 mark on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Feb. 6, 2026.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock Chart IconStock chart icon
Dow, year-to-date
Shares of Cisco surged 13% after the software giant posted third-quarter results and guidance that beat Wall Street’s expectations and announced it would be cutting almost 4,000 jobs.
“It’s hard to look past the robust earnings growth story,” William Merz, head of capital markets research at U.S. Bank Asset Management, told CNBC. He said that corporate fundamentals are “remarkably strong,” most notably for U.S. large-cap companies.
Cisco’s gain gave the Dow a boost, sending it to 50,000 during the session. The Dow also got a lift from Nvidia also advanced more than 4% after Reuters reported that the U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to purchase Nvidia’s H200 chip, though no deliveries have been made yet.
Cisco and Nvidia, as well as Amazon, have supported the Dow’s comeback — Cisco has soared 47% in the past two months, while Amazon and Nvidia has gained 28% and 30%, respectively. The run-up for the index comes even as the conflict in the Middle East persists, keeping inflationary fears among investors heightened as oil prices remain elevated.
Iran was a major topic of discussion during the summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday, with the two sides agreeing that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, per a White House official.