Dow Industrials Top 26000 for First Time
January 16 2018 - 10:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Corrie Driebusch, Michael Wursthorn and David Hodari
-- Dow industrials cross 26000
-- Dollar rebounds from three-year low
-- Stocks in Europe rise
The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 26000 for the first
time Tuesday, just seven trading sessions after closing above its
last 1000-point milestone.
The blue-chip index gained 206 points, or 0.8%, to 26010 shortly
after the opening bell. If the Dow industrials closes above 26000,
the jump from 25000 would be the fastest 1000-point leap in its
120-year history.
Tuesday's historic rise builds on the Dow's 25% gain last year
and its seemingly unstoppable climb to start 2018. The rally began
in late 2016 as a bet on infrastructure spending, deregulation and
tax cuts, but spent 2017 rising on the back of strong corporate
earnings growth.
The start of fourth-quarter reporting season, which many money
managers expect will again exceed analyst expectations, has the
potential to catapult the stock market even higher, some fund
managers say. They added that what they will be focusing on most,
however, is what executives say they expect for 2018 results,
particularly following the passage of tax overhaul.
"We have a high level of confidence in fourth-quarter earnings
numbers," said Tom Wright, head of equities at JMP Securities. "But
there's an even higher level of optimism around what forward
guidance will be now that we have a new corporate tax
structure."
UnitedHealth Group, one of the bigger contributors to the Dow's
point gain, added 2.3% after the health insurer beat analyst
estimates and raised its guidance.
Merck, another Dow component, gained 4.6% after the drugmaker
said a combination of its Keytruda treatment with chemotherapy
extended survival of patients with lung cancer.
S&P 500 climbed 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite added
0.7%.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%, with the shares of
industrial goods companies and insurers among the biggest
gainers.
The euro was recently down 0.5% against the dollar.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 1.8% higher, hitting a fresh
record.
Japanese stocks rebounded from Monday's selloff, with a weaker
yen helping the country's exporters. The Nikkei finished up 1% at a
fresh 26-year high.
In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.8%, rallying from
downbeat trading Monday and the Shenzhen Composite rose 0.7%.
Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com, Michael
Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com and David Hodari at
David.Hodari@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 16, 2018 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.