STX Seagate Technology Holdings PLC

By Riva Gold 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 20000 for the first time, the latest milestone in the U.S. stock market's postelection rally.

The Dow industrials have surged since Election Day, buoyed by investors' bets that the administration of Donald Trump will pursue policies such as tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks and infrastructure spending that could improve the outlook for U.S. companies. The index has risen roughly 8.6% since Nov. 8, notching several highs, and closed above 19000 for the first time ever Nov. 22.

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The Dow industrials gained 118 points, or 0.6%, to 20031 shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 gained 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.6%.

Boeing was the best performer in the blue-chip index, up 2%, after beating expectations for earnings in the final quarter of the year.

Elsewhere, shares of Seagate Technology added 17% after revenue slid less than expected.

Haven assets were under pressure, with gold down 1.2% at $1,196.90 an ounce and government bond yields close to their highest this year.

Overseas, the Stoxx Europe 600 advanced 1.3% while Japanese shares added 1.4% as a climb of more than 100 points in the Dow and record finishes for the S&P and Nasdaq Composite on Tuesday rippled through Europe and Asia.

Mining and manufacturing companies led the charge on Wall Street Tuesday in a move some traders and analysts attributed to President Donald Trump's plans to boost infrastructure projects. Mr. Trump took steps to revive two oil pipeline projects and issued directives that aim to ease regulations on infrastructure developments and U.S. manufacturing.

"We're guardedly optimistic," said Michael Thompson, managing director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "The U.S. was inexorably poised to move out of this kind of this slow growth trajectory, and some of the policy changes are certainly going to facilitate that, as long as the worst pitfalls are avoided."

He said he would watch any news on border-adjustment measures carefully in the coming days.

In Europe, banks and financials were the best performers as bond yields recovered and corporate earnings proved supportive. Shares of Banco Santander gained 4.2% after the Spanish lender kicked off Europe's bank earnings season with a bigger-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter profit.

European bank shares have gained roughly 17% in the past three months after a steep fall last summer. "The recovery in their stock prices has probably been correct, but it's difficult to see how it can go further," said Edward Smith, asset allocation strategist at Rathbones.

"There are still problems in the recapitalization of Italian banks, exposure to Italian and Eastern European loans, and yield curves that are unlikely to steepen much more in Europe," he said.

Europe's auto and construction and materials sectors also rose sharply Wednesday, while the basic resources sector wobbled between small gains and losses after closing at its highest since 2014.

In government bonds, the 10-year German bund yield rose to 0.384% Wednesday from 0.325%. A top European Central Bank official said Tuesday the bank should start to wind down its massive bond-purchase program soon.

"I am...optimistic that we can soon turn to the question of an exit" from easy-money policies, said Sabine Lautenschläger, who sits on the ECB's executive board.

Germany's Ifo business sentiment index separately came in below forecasts, dropping unexpectedly at the start of the year.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged up to 2.479% from 2.471% after its biggest daily gain of 2017, while Japanese government bonds came under selling pressure at 0.065%.

Chinese government bond yields neared their highest levels since 2015 after the central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates on a type of special loans to certain financial institutions.

In currencies, the WSJ Dollar Index fell 0.2%, with the dollar last down 0.5% against the yen and the British pound.

The Mexican peso reversed early losses to gain 0.2% with Mr. Trump expected to announce plans shortly to expedite construction of a wall along the Mexican border.

Brent crude oil fell 0.9% to $54.94 a barrel, while copper futures pulled back from a 19-month high.

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Amy Harder

,

Shen Hong

, Katherine Dunn and Tom Fairless contributed to this article.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 25, 2017 09:48 ET (14:48 GMT)

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