{"id":59043,"date":"2026-02-24T12:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T16:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaytech-and-retail-strength-propel-dow-jones-toward-50000-milestone\/59043\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T16:09:27","slug":"dowjonestodaytech-and-retail-strength-propel-dow-jones-toward-50000-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaytech-and-retail-strength-propel-dow-jones-toward-50000-milestone\/59043\/","title":{"rendered":"[DowJonesToday]Tech and Retail Strength Propel Dow Jones Toward 50,000 Milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/dowjones\/today.aspx\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (^DJI)<\/strong> was up <strong>408.08 (0.8362%)<\/strong> points today, climbing to <strong>49,212.14<\/strong> as the index nears the historic 50,000 threshold. <strong>Dow Futures (YM=F)<\/strong> mirrored this optimism, as they were up <strong>359.00 (0.7349%)<\/strong> points to <strong>49,208.00<\/strong>. The market&#39;s upward trajectory was primarily fueled by a better-than-expected <strong>Consumer Confidence Index<\/strong> reading for February, which surged to a multi-month high. This economic resilience, coupled with a powerful rally in enterprise technology, shifted investor sentiment toward growth-oriented equities and away from defensive positions.<\/p>\n<p>Enterprise software and consumer discretionary stocks dominated the leaderboard. <strong>Salesforce (<a href=\"\/stock\/CRM\">CRM<\/a>)<\/strong> was up <strong>5.38%<\/strong> to <strong>$187.97<\/strong>, while <strong>IBM (<a href=\"\/stock\/IBM\">IBM<\/a>)<\/strong> was up <strong>5.16%<\/strong> to <strong>$235.16<\/strong>, as both companies benefited from renewed institutional interest in AI infrastructure. <strong>Home Depot (<a href=\"\/stock\/HD\">HD<\/a>)<\/strong> was up <strong>3.18%<\/strong> to <strong>$388.59<\/strong>, capitalizing on the strong macro data which signaled a robust housing market outlook. Additionally, <strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>)<\/strong> was up <strong>2.98%<\/strong> and <strong>Nike (<a href=\"\/stock\/NKE\">NKE<\/a>)<\/strong> was up <strong>2.50%<\/strong>, reflecting broad-based strength across the consumer landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, the healthcare sector weighed on the price-weighted index. <strong>UnitedHealth Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/UNH\">UNH<\/a>)<\/strong> was down <strong>2.62%<\/strong> to <strong>$275.16<\/strong> following a cautious outlook on medical cost trends. The banking sector also saw profit-taking; <strong>JPMorgan Chase (<a href=\"\/stock\/JPM\">JPM<\/a>)<\/strong> was down <strong>1.23%<\/strong> to <strong>$293.81<\/strong>, and <strong>American Express (<a href=\"\/stock\/AXP\">AXP<\/a>)<\/strong> was down <strong>0.84%<\/strong> to <strong>$318.71<\/strong>. Other laggards included <strong>Travelers (<a href=\"\/stock\/TRV\">TRV<\/a>)<\/strong>, which was down <strong>0.62%<\/strong>, and <strong>Visa (<a href=\"\/stock\/V\">V<\/a>)<\/strong>, which was down <strong>0.56%<\/strong>, as investors rotated capital into the high-performing tech and retail sectors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 408.08 (0.8362%) points today, climbing to 49,212.14 as the index nears the 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