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The Dow Jones<\/a> industrial average crossed 50,000 for the first time, as ballooning tech valuations, robust corporate earnings and hopes of lower interest rates drive it to new highs.<\/p>\n <\/gu-island><\/p>\n Leading stock markets<\/a> on Wall Street came under pressure earlier this week as technology stocks fell amid scrutiny of extraordinary levels of investment into artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Cryptocurrencies including bitcoin have also suffered sharp falls<\/a> in recent days, although they recovered some lost ground on Friday.<\/p>\n But US equities have been rallying for months as investors largely shrugged off geopolitical tensions and grew increasingly optimistic about the economy.<\/p>\n The Dow closed at 50,015.67 on Friday in New York, up 2.3% on the day. The benchmark S&P 500 rose 2%, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 2.2%.<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> has repeatedly hailed the record stock market highs, and tried to claim the market climb as evidence of the success of US tariffs \u2013 his central economic policy \u2013 which have soared to their highest effective level since 1935 on his watch.<\/p>\n \u201cTHANK YOU YOU MISTER TARIFF!!!\u201d the US president wrote on social media last month, after the Dow and S&P closed at fresh all-time highs. He claimed: \u201cBOTH OUR NATIONAL AND FINANCIAL SECURITY HAVE NEVER BEEN STRONGER!\u201d<\/p>\n Many investors have largely shrugged off Trump\u2019s aggressive trade strategy, and threatens to impose even steeper tariffs on US economic allies and foes alike. The so-called \u201cTaco\u201d trade \u2013 Trump Always Chickens Out \u2013 made headlines last year, much to the president\u2019s chagrin.<\/p>\n Leading chip manufacturers at the heart of the AI boom have helped drive the stock market rally, despite fears of a bubble.<\/p>\n Jensen Huang, the Nvidia CEO and president, claimed<\/a> on the financial news network CNBC that demand for AI remained \u201cincredibly high\u201d, and that the level of spending was appropriate and sustainable. Shares in Nvidia \u2013 the world\u2019s largest publicly listed company, with a market valuation of $4.5tn \u2013 rose 7.9% on Friday.<\/p>\n