Dow snaps 4-week winning streak as tech rally bypasses index

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is poised to snap a four-week winning streak, trailing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq as technology stocks surged on artificial intelligence and streaming sector catalysts.

Retail investors maintained a bullish stance on tech-heavy funds, with sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust remaining positive over the past 24 hours, Stocktwits data showed. The bullish positioning underscores the market's preference for technology exposure over traditional cyclical sectors.

Wall Street ended Thursday in positive territory, with the Nasdaq climbing 1.3%, the S&P 500 advancing 0.8%, and the Dow adding 0.3%, according to exchange data. While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track for a second straight week of gains, the Dow is set to snap its four-week winning streak, highlighting the growing divergence between tech-heavy and industrially-weighted indices.

Meta Platforms climbed 2% in premarket trading Friday after unveiling its Muse Spark 1.1 artificial intelligence model designed for coding applications, extending gains that put the stock on pace for its strongest weekly performance since mid-April. Netflix rose 1.2% following a Wall Street Journal report that the streaming company is exploring live channels that would continuously stream selected shows and movies, as well as potentially bundling other subscription services including NBCUniversal's Peacock.

The technology rally comes as SK Hynix prepares to debut on the Nasdaq later Friday, raising $26.5 billion in the largest U.S. IPO ever by a foreign company. The South Korean memory chip maker sold 177.9 million American depositary shares at $149 each, surpassing Alibaba's 2014 record.

Breadth data showed the divergence extending beyond headline indices. Chip equipment stocks faced pressure in premarket trading, with Lam Research and Marvell Technology among the decliners, reflecting profit-taking after the sector's recent run. Nasdaq futures fell 0.4% early Friday, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.1% and Dow futures edged up 0.1%, according to exchange data.

Brent crude traded at $76.01 a barrel, down 0.4%, though oil remained on track for weekly gains of about 6% as Middle East tensions persisted. The divergence between the Dow and the Nasdaq suggests investors are increasingly discriminating between AI-exposed names and traditional cyclical sectors, a dynamic that could persist as second-quarter earnings season approaches.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.