U.S. Stocks plunge in highly volatile trading: S&P 500 erases 2018’s gains

A trader watches his screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, U.S., February 5, 2018.

By Lewis Krauskopf

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks plunged in highly volatile trading on Monday, with the Dow industrials falling nearly 1,600 points during the session, its biggest intraday decline in history, as investors grappled with rising bond yields and potentially firming inflation.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow suffered their biggest percentage drops since August 2011 as a long-awaited pullback from record highs deepened.

The financial, healthcare and industrial sectors fell the most, but declines were spread broadly as all major 11 S&P groups dropped at least 1.7 percent. All 30 of the blue-chip Dow industrial components finished negative.

With Monday’s declines, the S&P 500 erased its gains for 2018 and is now down 0.9 percent in 2018.

Many investors have been bracing for a pullback for months, as the stock market has minted record high after record high with investors encouraged by solid economic data and corporate earnings prospects, the latter bolstered by recently passed U.S. corporate tax cuts.

Friday’s January jobs report sparked worries over inflation and a surge in bond yields, as well as concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at a faster pace than expected.

“The market has had an incredible run,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist At JonesTrading In Greenwich, Connecticut.

“We have an environment where interest rates are rising. We have a stronger economy so the Fed should continue to tighten … You’re seeing real changes occur and different investments are adjusting to that,” O’Rourke said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,175.21 points, or 4.6 percent, to 24,345.75, the S&P 500 lost 113.19 points, or 4.10 percent, to 2,648.94 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 273.42 points, or 3.78 percent, to 6,967.53.

The S&P 500 ended 7.8 percent down from its record high on Jan. 26, with the Dow down 8.5 percent over that time.

Even with the sharp declines, stocks finished above their lows touched during the session. At one point, the Dow fell 6.3 percent or 1,597 points, the biggest one-day points loss ever, as it breached both the 25,000 and 24,000 levels during trading.

The stock market has climbed to record peaks since President Donald Trump’s election and remains up 23.8 percent since his victory. Trump has frequently touted the rise of the stock market during his presidency.

As the stock market fell on Monday, the White House said the fundamentals of the U.S. economy are strong.

The CBOE Volatility index, the closely followed measure of expected near-term stock market volatility, jumped 20 points to 30.71, its highest level since August 2015.

Until recently, gains for stocks have come as the market has been relatively subdued, and any declines were met with buyers looking for bargains.

“People who have been buying the dip are now going to be selling the rip,” said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC in Las Vegas. “The psychology of the market changed today. It’ll take a while to get that psychology back.”

About 11.5 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, well above the 7.6 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 8.64-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 6.92-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week highs and 38 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 17 new highs and 164 new lows. 37.32

(Additional reporting by Megan Davies, Sinead Carew, Caroline Valetkevitch and Chuck Mikolajczak in New York, Noel Randewich in San Francisco and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Nick Zieminski)

Dow, S&P 500 eke out record highs, turn up after Fed Powell report

Dow, S&P 500 eke out record highs, turn up after Fed Powell report

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow and S&P 500 eked out record closing highs on Thursday, turning higher at the last minute after a Politico report that Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is the leading candidate for the nominee for Fed chair.

Investors have been anxious to hear who President Donald Trump will pick as the nominee. A decision like Powell would likely be a continuation of the current stock market-friendly monetary policy that has helped fuel the market’s more than eight-year bull run.

Stocks had been recovering from early losses for much of the afternoon but the S&P 500 and Dow were still a tad lower just before the Powell report.

“Clearly at the end it had everything to do with the speculation about Jerome Powell,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. “I can’t observe any other reason for why we ended up.”

“He’s viewed to be sort of an extension of (current Fed Chair) Janet Yellen by way of being a policy dove … and, with the market loving more of the same with regard to uber-accommodative monetary policy, as more welcome than the alternative,” he said.

Powell was among several names circulating as possible picks, including Yellen. Others include Trump’s chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh and Stanford University economist John Taylor.

The White House on Wednesday said Trump will announce his decision on the matter in the “coming days.”

Tech shares were among the day’s biggest drags, led by Apple <AAPL.O>, which fell 2.4 percent in its biggest daily percentage decline since Aug. 10 as doubts about its double 2017 iPhone release strategy weighed on investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 5.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to end at 23,163.04, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 0.84 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,562.1 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 19.15 points, or 0.29 percent, to 6,605.07.

Stocks have posted a string of record highs in recent weeks, and the Dow closed above 23,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

The day also marked the 30th anniversary of the 1987 Black Monday stock market crash. Most traders see a repeat of the crash as unlikely because of modern trading technology and other changes.

Investors also took profits in the broader tech sector, which has had a strong run so far this year, gaining about 30 percent and helping drive the market’s recent record run. The tech index <.SPLRCT> was down 0.4 percent on the day.

Weighing on the market early as well was some disappointing news on the earnings front.

United Airlines <UAL.N> tumbled 12.1 percent, weighing on other airlines stocks after the third-largest U.S. carrier’s profit fell due to flight cancellations during the hurricane season. American Airlines <AAL.O> fell 1 percent.

Shares of eBay <EBAY.O> were down 1.8 percent a day after it reported results.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.04-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.33-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges. That compares with the 5.9 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish)

Dow tops 23,000-mark for the first time on strong earnings

Dow tops 23,000-mark for the first time on strong earnings

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average breached the 23,000-mark for the first time on Tuesday, powered by strong earnings from UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson.

The blue-chip index has surpassed four similar 1,000-point milestones this year, indicating investor faith in the bull-run despite lofty stock valuations.

The broader market, however, was weighed down by losses in industrial, financial and technology stocks.

Shares of the largest U.S. health insurer <UNH.N> touched a life high, rising as much as 5.83 percent, after the company reported a stronger-than-expected profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast.

That, along with a 2.6 percent rise in Johnson & Johnson <JNJ.N>, led a 1 percent gain in the S&P healthcare sector <.SPXHC>.

Goldman Sachs <GS.N> dipped 2.07 percent despite reporting a profit beat and smaller-than-expected trading revenue fall. Morgan Stanley <MS.N> rose 0.92 percent as its wealth management business insulated the bank from weakness in trading revenue.

“There was some good earnings, real good economic data in spite of the hurricanes,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

“We’re not seeing a market that’s galloping along here. The market from a technical perspective is tired. What you’re seeing is some hesitancy but not any major declines.”

Treasury yields and dollar gained after a report that U.S. President Donald Trump was impressed by his meeting with economist John Taylor, who is considered to favor higher interest rates than current Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

The equity market, however, was not impacted by a report that Trump is likely to announce his choice before going to Asia in early November.

At 12:33 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 1.1 points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,556.54 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was down 2.98 points, or 0.05 percent, at 6,621.02.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 19.47 points, or 0.08 percent, at 22,976.43, after briefly hitting the 23,000 mark, when only eight of its 30 components were making gains.

Nine of the 11 major S&P indexes were lower, led by a 0.42 percent drop in industrials <.SPLRCI> index.

General Electric’s <GE.N> 1.15 percent fall led losses in the industrial sector, while drop in shares of Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Intel <INTC.O> weighed on the tech sector.

Netflix <NFLX.O> slipped 1.15 percent after touching a record high as more subscribers signed up for its popular original content in the latest quarter.

(ht Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Wall Street opens flat as North Korea tensions fade

Wall Street opens flat as North Korea tensions fade

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks opened flat on Tuesday after North Korea’s leader delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam, pointing to receding tensions between the United States and North Korea.

Pyongyang’s plans to fire missiles near the U.S. Pacific territory prompted a surge in tensions in the region last week, with President Donald Trump saying the U.S. military was “locked and loaded” if North Korea acted unwisely.

“I think it is a bit of a follow through on North Korea that has stepped back, things are back to somewhat normal”, said Mark Spellman, portfolio manager at Alpine Funds in New York.

“U.S. companies and the markets have also been benefiting from the global economic expansion. For the first time in many years, you’ve got a lot of economies through out the world doing better,” Spellman added.

At 9:42 a.m. ET (1342 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 29.01 points, or 0.13 percent, at 22,022.72, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 1.17 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,467.01.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 1.12 points, or 0.02 percent, at 6,341.35.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with telecom sector’s <.SPLRCL> 0.70 percent fall leading the decliners.

Data showed U.S. retail sales recorded their biggest increase in seven months in July as consumers boosted purchases of motor vehicles as well as discretionary spending.

The data helped the dollar touch its highest level against a basket of major currencies <.DXY> in nearly three weeks.

Among stocks, Home Depot <HD.N> was down 2.6 percent, despite the U.S. home improvement chain reporting quarterly profit and comparable sales that topped estimates. The stock weighed the most on the Dow and the S&P 500.

Coach <COH.N> was off more than 6 percent after the handbag maker issued full-year sales forecast that missed analysts’ estimates.

Dick’s Sporting Goods <DKS.N> hit near seven-year lows after the sportswear retailer’s quarterly same-store sales and profit missed estimates.

Advance Auto Parts <AAP.N> touched near four-year low after the company lowered its 2017 comparable store sales forecast.

Synchrony Financial <SYF.N> rose 3.4 percent after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> said it had added a 17.5-million share stake in the credit card issuer.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,432 to 1,122. On the Nasdaq, 1,354 issues fell and 1,001.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Wall Street retreats after Dow breaches 22,000

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) – The Dow breached the 22,000 mark briefly in early trading on Wednesday, powered by Apple’s stellar results, before stocks retreated sharply across sectors as investors locked in gains.

Apple <AAPL.O> jumped as much as 6.46 percent to a record high, after the world’s largest publicly listed company reported strong results and iPhone sales, and signaled its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule. The stock is up about 30 percent this year.

Microsoft <MSFT.O> and Facebook <FB.O> were among the top drags on both the S&P and the Nasdaq.

However, the S&P 500 information technology index <.SPLRCT> is up about 22 percent year to date, leading other sectors, as investors look for growth in an otherwise low-growth environment.

“Typically at those big round numbers the market seems to hesitate … I’m looking at this as a situation where the underlying evidence as to why the stock market has responded well is the fertile climate for corporate profits which is likely to remain,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

The Dow has risen 11 percent in 2017, even as Wall Street is losing confidence that President Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress would be able to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending this year.

The Dow hit the 20,000 mark in late January and crossed the 21,000 mark in just over a month on March 1.

Two-thirds of S&P 500 companies have reported their second-quarter earnings so far and 72 percent of them have beaten Wall Street’s expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. In a typical quarter, 64 percent of the companies beat expectations.

At 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 11.56 points, or 0.05 percent, at 21,975.48, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 7.04 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,469.31.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was down 34.35 points, or 0.54 percent, at 6,328.59.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the telecommunications index’s <.SPLRCL> 1.05 percent loss leading the decliners.

Data showed U.S. private employers added 178,000 jobs in July, after adding 191,000 jobs in June. Economists polled by Reuters expected an addition of 185,000 jobs. The data comes ahead of the more comprehensive non-farm payrolls data on Friday.

AutoNation <AN.N> fell 6.19 percent after the largest U.S. auto retail chain, reported a fall in quarterly profit.

Cardinal Health <CAH.N> fell 9.34 percent after the drug distributor’s 2018 profit forecast missed analysts’ estimate.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,851 to 970. On the Nasdaq, 2,145 issues fell and 687 advanced.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Dow at record on strong earnings; Apple earnings awaited

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks were higher in late morning trading on Tuesday, with the Dow coming within spitting distance of the 22,000 mark, helped by strong corporate earnings.

The Dow pierced through the historic 20,000 milestone in January and the 21,000 mark barely one and a half months later.

All eyes will now be on the quarterly performance of Dow-component Apple <AAPL.O>, which reports after the closing bell. The iPhone maker’s shares were up 0.25 percent.

Tech has been the best performing sector this year, despite recent bouts of volatility on rising valuation concerns. The tech index’s <.SPLRCT> 0.49 percent rise on Tuesday led the major S&P sectors.

Amazon <AMZN.O> provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq with its 1.5 percent rise.

“While valuations overall and for the tech sector isn’t cheap, some of the most powerful earnings growth has come from large-cap technology names,” said Bill Northey, chief investment officer at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

Investors have been counting on earnings to support high valuations for equities. The S&P 500 is trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, above its long-term average of 15 times.

S&P 500 earnings are expected on average to have grown 10.8 percent in the second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

“We are two-thirds through the earnings season and estimates are going only higher, including for the full year, which is helping support the fundamentals-driven market.” said Northey.

At 10:58 a.m. ET (1458 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 89.92 points, or 0.41 percent, at 21,981.04 and the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 5.6 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,475.90.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 16.49 points, or 0.26 percent, at 6,364.61.

A 0.22 percent fall in healthcare <.SPXHC> led the laggards. Pfizer <PFE.N> was down 1.10 percent after the drugmaker’s quarterly revenue missed expectations.

Regeneron <REGN.O> fell 3.58 percent following a rating downgrade by a brokerage. The stock was the top drag on the Nasdaq.

Economic data showed U.S. consumer spending barely rose in June as income failed to increase for the first time in seven months.

The core PCE numbers – the Federal Reserve’s preferred metric to gauge inflation – for June edged up 0.1 percent following a similar increase in May.

In the 12 months through June, the so-called core PCE price index increased 1.5 percent after advancing by the same margin in May, remaining below the Fed’s 2 percent target rate.

Under Armour <UA.N> fell 6.41 percent after the sportswear maker cut its full-year sales forecast.

Sprint <S.N> jumped 9.78 percent after swinging to a quarterly profit for the first time in three years.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,599 to 1,113. On the Nasdaq, 1,376 issues fell and 1,282 advanced.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Wall Street opens higher, Dow rises to record high

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 20, 2017.

By Sweta Singh and Ankur Banerjee

(Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes opened higher on Monday, with the Dow hitting a record high, as investors remained optimistic on corporate earnings in the second quarter.

Investors have been counting on earnings to support the relatively high valuations for equities, with the S&P 500 trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, above its long-term average of 15 times.

Of the 289 S&P 500 companies that reported results until Friday, 73 percent of them beat analyst expectations. This is above the 71 percent average over the past four quarters, according to Thomson Reuters.

The S&P 500 slipped on Friday on negative reactions to earnings reports from high-profile names such as Amazon, Exxon and Starbucks and a drop in shares of tobacco companies.

“We had a choppy week last week, we had a very erratic week, so coming off a erratic week, we’re getting some early morning premarket bargain hunting,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC.

“We’re not having anything coming that the markets can sink their teeth into.”

Apple Inc, a part of the Dow, is expected to report quarterly results after market close on Tuesday and its performance may hold the sway over tech stocks this week.

At 9:37 a.m. ET (1337 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 61.07 points, or 0.28 percent, at 21,891.38, the S&P 500 .SPX was up 4.68 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,476.78 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 18.28 points, or 0.29 percent, at 6,392.96.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the financial index’s 0.38 percent rise leading the gainers.

On data front, contracts to buy previously owned homes rebounded in June after three straight monthly declines.

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, jumped 1.5 percent to a reading of 110.2.

The Federal Reserve of Dallas will release its monthly manufacturing index for July at around 10:30 a.m. ET.

Oil prices rose on Monday, putting July was on track to become the strongest month for the commodity this year.

Scripps Network was up 1.23 percent at $87.98 premarket after Discovery Communications said it would buy the media company for $14.6 billion.

Charter Communications Inc shares were up 4.3 percent at $386.13 after the U.S. cable operator said on Sunday it was not interested in buying wireless carrier Sprint Corp.

Shares of Snap Inc fell 4.1 percent to $13.10 and hit a record low, as a share lockup ended, allowing for sales by early investors and pushing it further below its March initial public offering price.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by 1,495 to 1,017. On the Nasdaq, 1,278 issues rose and 971 fell.

 

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee, Sweta Singh, and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

 

Dow tops 21,000 on Trump speech, rate hike talk

A screen shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average soon after the market opened on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange . REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – The Dow crossed the 21,000 mark for the first time ever on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump’s measured tone in his first speech to Congress lifted investor optimism and bank stocks surged on hopes of an interest rate hike this month.

Trump on Tuesday said he wanted to boost the U.S. economy with a “massive” tax relief and make a $1 trillion effort on infrastructure, bets that have helped Wall Street scale new records since the November election.

“Trump came off very Presidential and investors are drawing optimism from the way he delivered the message in his speech,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

“Today is just another vote of confidence in Donald Trump being able to do what he says he wants to do.”

If the Dow closes above 21,000, it would have taken 24 trading sessions since the blue-chip index first closed above 20,000, matching the fastest move between thousand-point milestones, which happened between March and May 1999 and took the index above 11,000.

Banks and industrial stocks, which have benefited the most in the post-election rally, were the biggest gainers on Wednesday. The spike also helped the S&P to break out from the tight trading range the index has been stuck in since Dec. 7.

The three main indexes were on track for their best one-day gain since Nov. 7, a day before the U.S. presidential election.

The S&P financial index <.SPSY> soared 2.7 percent, outperforming the other 10 major sectors, also helped by key Federal Reserve officials who hinted at an interest rate hike this month.

The KBW Nasdaq Bank index <.BKX> was up 3.3 percent, while the dollar gained 0.6 percent.

The odds of March rate hike also rose after the Commerce Department reported that January inflation ticked up by the most in four years.

Traders have now priced in a nearly 70 percent chance of rate hike when the Fed’s policy-setting body meets on March 14-15, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Gold prices, the CBOE Volatility index <.VIX> and bond proxy sectors of the S&P 500 dropped.

“The specter of higher rates means the economy is doing better,” Bakhos said.

At 12:18 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> was up 290.2 points, or 1.39 percent, at 21,102.44, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was up 33.11 points, or 1.40 percent, at 2,396.75 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 76.88 points, or 1.32 percent, at 5,902.31.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors, including industrials <.SPLRCI> and materials <.SPLRCM>, gained between 1.4 and 2.7 percent.

Lowe’s <LOW.N> stock jumped 9.3 percent to $81.22 and was the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P, after the home improvement chain issued an upbeat sales forecast.

One laggard on all the three indexes was Intel <INTC.O>, which fell 1.2 percent after Bernstein downgraded the stock to “underperform” and cut its price target.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,044 to 891. On the Nasdaq, 2,192 issues rose and 620 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 127 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 189 new highs and 32 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Dow breaches 21,000 as banks gain on rate talk

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., February 28, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks opened at record intraday highs on Wednesday, with the Dow breaching the 21,000 mark for the first time ever as a more measured tone in President Donald Trump’s speech reassured investors and bank stocks gained on higher chances of an interest rate hike this month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average &lt;.DJI&gt; was up 184.17 points, or 0.88 percent, at 20,996.41, the S&amp;P 500 &lt;.SPX&gt; was up 18.65 points, or 0.789037 percent, at 2,382.29 and the Nasdaq composite &lt;.IXIC&gt; was up 49.66 points, or 0.85 percent, at 5,875.10.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

Dow hits 20,000 as post-election rally roars back to life

Dow trading floor

By Yashaswini Swamynathan, Rodrigo Campos and Chuck Mikolajczak

(Reuters) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday, resuming a rally that began in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s surprise election victory.

The rally roared back to life after Trump signed numerous executive orders on Tuesday, including clearing the path for the construction of two oil pipelines to boost the energy industry.

The S&amp;P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indexes also hit record intraday highs.

The Dow came within a point of the historic mark on Jan. 6, as investors banked on pro-growth policies and tax cuts many expect from the new administration.

“Trump’s been on the job for five days and he’s a man of action,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.

“That should get everyone confident he’ll get those three other things done … which is taxes, trade and regulation.”

Trump tweeted “Great!#Dow20K”.

The venerable index had stalled recently, dropping modestly in consecutive weeks, as investors grew cautious as they looked for clarity on the administration’s new policies.

If the index remains above 20,000 by closing time, the 42-session surge from the first close above 19,000 would mark the second-shortest length of time between such milestones.

The most rapid rise was between 10,00 and 11,000 from March 29 to May 3, which took 24 days. The rise from 18,000 to 19,000 took the Dow 483 trading sessions.

The surge since Nov. 22, when the index closed above 19,000 for the first time, has been spearheaded by financial stocks – with Goldman Sachs &lt;GS.N&gt; and JPMorgan &lt;JPM.N&gt; accounting for about 20 percent of the gain.

On Wednesday, Boeing &lt;BA.N&gt; rose 2.7 percent after its earnings and IBM &lt;IBM.N&gt; gained 1.4 percent, helping to push the index over the top. Goldman rose 0.7 percent.

At 10:11 a.m. ET (1512 GMT), the Dow &lt;.DJI&gt; was up 137.14 points, or 0.69 percent, at 20,049.85. Only six of its 30 components were lower.

The S&amp;P 500 &lt;.SPX&gt; was up 13.69 points, or 0.60 percent, at 2,293.76 and the Nasdaq Composite &lt;.IXIC&gt; was up 40.53 points, or 0.72 percent, at 5,641.49.

Eight of the 11 major S&amp;P 500 sectors were higher, led by a 1.05 percent rise in financials &lt;.SPSY&gt;.

Utilities &lt;.SPLRCU&gt;, real estate &lt;.SPLRCR&gt; and telecom services &lt;.SPLRCL&gt; – defensive parts of the market – were the outliers.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,941 to 824. On the Nasdaq, 1,902 issues rose and 658 fell.

The S&amp;P 500 index showed 71 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 145 new highs and six new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)