The Dow Hits 50,000 Again—Restoring Milestone Months After Pam Bondi Touted Index In Epstein Hearing
Topline
The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned above 50,000 on Wednesday, restoring a milestone not seen since the now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi touted the index’s performance during a heated hearing about the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now,” Bondi said during sworn testimony over the Justice Department’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
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Key Facts
The Dow rose 704 points, or about 1.4%, to just over 50,000 as of Wednesday afternoon, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq similarly rose 1.4% and 1.8%, respectively.
That’s the first time the Dow crossed the 50,000-point threshold since Feb. 12, one day after Bondi appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, after which the index dropped nearly 11% to its lowest point on March 30, when the Dow settled at just over 45,000.
Bondi’s comments—pointing toward the success of the market while she was grilled over an entirely separate issue—did not cause the Dow to drop, but were widely mocked for being seen as off topic given the nature of the hearing.
Stocks widely suffered losses weeks afterward, following the start of the Iran war.
Nvidia headlined broader gains across the 30-stock Dow and rallied by 5.4%, adding to further gains from Honeywell International (4.2%), Sherwin-Williams (4%), 3M (3.2%), Apple (1.2%) and Amazon (1.1%).
Big Number
7.1%. That’s how much the Dow advanced by in April, its strongest monthly performance since November 2024. The S&P 500 jumped 10.4% in its best month since November 2024, and the Nasdaq surged 15.3%, its best month since April 2020.
What Did Pam Bondi Say About The Dow?
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now,” Bondi said in response to Rep. Jerrod Nadler, D-N.Y, who asked Bondi about how many of Epstein’s co-conspirators were indicted or under investigation by the Trump administration. House Democrats laughed at Bondi’s remarks, as Bondi then said the Nasdaq was “smashing records” and noted the S&P 500 was nearly at 7,000, adding, “Americans’ 401(k)s and retirement savings are booming. That’s what we should be talking about.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, accused Bondi of “running a massive Epstein cover-up right out of the Department of Justice” in his opening statement, pointing to the agency’s failure to release millions of files it is legally required to disclose under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Bondi’s comments about the stock market drew criticism across the aisle, including from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who said Bondi “didn’t answer anything” and instead “came here ready to talk about the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq, which seems kind of crazy to me.”