The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite was under pressure as investors moved away from technology stocks.
The Dow, which includes 30 stocks, rose 270.03 points, or 0.55%, while the technology-advanced Nasdaq fell 0.44%. The S&P 500 closed 0.01% higher. Among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, information technology was the laggard, falling more than 1%. Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia was among the names investors exited, trading down more than 2%. Oracle, also a player in artificial intelligence, fell more than 1%. Shares of iPhone maker Apple also fell, posting a seventh straight day of losses.
While Rob Haworth, senior director of investment strategy at US Bank Asset Management, believes technology and artificial intelligence will remain an important theme for 2026, he believes that commerce’s status as a growth driver will depend on whether and in which sectors use cases begin to emerge.
“We’re seeing early signs of that in health care,” he said. “When we think about robotics, insurance, diagnostics, all those types of companies are going to be early adopters. We think that’s where the growth story is.”
Certainly, Haworth added that results will need to expand, citing industry and finance as two key areas to watch. He said: “Those stories are starting to look better this year and I think that will be key to continuing this growth.”
Defense stocks were the bright spot of the day, as key names rallied after President Donald Trump called for a defense budget of $1.5 trillion in 2027 — a huge increase from the $901 billion Congress approved for 2026. Northrop Grumman jumped 2% and Lockheed Martin gained about 4%. Kratos Defense jumped almost 14%.
The S&P 500 and Dow ended Wednesday in the red after touching new all-time highs. Those declines came as crude oil prices fell after Trump said the interim government in Venezuela would hand over as much as 50 million barrels of oil to the US, sparking concerns about an increase in oil supply.
Oil prices rallied on Thursday, with Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures up more than 3%.
