Dow 50,000 Sparks Caution: AI-Driven Swing May Pause the Rally

The Dow briefly topped 50,000 on Feb. 6 but gave back the gains as AI-driven disruption and rich tech valuations pressured risk assets, triggering a broad selloff in AI-sensitive stocks and other sectors even as bonds benefited from cooler inflation and renewed rate-cut bets. Sentiment was extraordinarily bullish, with traders warned to buy dips rather than chase rallies, while data suggesting inflation might ease kept the Fed on investors’ radar. Analysts caution that this could be a near‑term peak if AI swings persist and earnings multiples don’t re-rate.