New York Stock Exchange closes higher

ISTANBUL

The New York Stock Exchange ended the week on a high note, buoyed by a rebound in technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.47%, or 1,206.95 points, to close at 50,115.67.

The Nasdaq soared 2.18%, or 490.63 points, to 23,031.21, and the S&P 500 increased 1.97%, or 133.9 points, to 6,932.30.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index,” fell sharply by 18.42% to 17.76 points.

After a week dominated by selling pressure on technology stocks, the stock market rebounded on the last trading day of the week.

Growing concerns about the impact of AI spending on corporate profitability and signs of cooling in the US labor market had negatively affected risk appetite in the markets.

Throughout the week, the financial results announced by companies were the focus of investors, with particular attention paid to the impact of costs in the AI race on balance sheets.

Shares of Amazon, the US e-commerce giant, dropped sharply after the company's net sales exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter of last year, but its profit fell short of expectations, and it raised its spending forecast for 2026 to $200 billion.

Amazon's capital expenditures were $131 billion in 2025.

With the acceleration of the AI race, Amazon became one of the major technology companies, following Alphabet, to announce plans to increase its spending.

Chip stocks rose on expectations that increased AI spending by companies such as Amazon and Alphabet would benefit chip companies.

Nvidia shares gained 7.9%, AMD 8.3%, and Broadcom 7.1%.

Software companies, which had a difficult week amid concerns that rapidly developing AI tools could reduce demand for some companies, also saw a recovery in their shares.

Among these companies, Oracle shares rose 4.7% and CrowdStrike shares rose 4.9%.

On the macroeconomic data front, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index rose to 57.3 in February, exceeding expectations.

Data released ahead of next week's inflation figures in the US showed that consumers' short-term inflation expectations fell from 4% in January to 3.5%, the lowest level since January 2025.

Long-term inflation expectations rose for the second consecutive month, climbing from 3.3% to 3.4%.