NEW YORK: The Dow edged to a fresh record Tuesday, briefly topping 23,000 points for the first time, following a batch of mostly good earnings.
Big gains by health care companies Johnson & Johnson and United Healthcare following earnings led the blue-chip index to another record.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 22,997.44, up 0.2 percent after earlier hitting 23,002.20.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent to 2,559.36, also a record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost a hair at 6,623.36.
US stocks have broken numerous records since President Donald Trump last month released an outline of his tax cut plan. Other key factors behind the boom include relatively low interest rates and solid earnings.
Analysts described sentiment as modestly positive.
“Good earnings news was already priced in to the stocks and the broader market,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.
“The inference is that there isn’t much selling pressure no matter the news, as market participants are holding fast to the supports of low interest rates, continued earnings growth, and the prospect of tax reform that is leading them to defer taking long-term capital gains.”
United Healthcare shot up 5.6 percent after lifting its full-year forecasts and pointing to broad-based growth throughout its insurance network.
Johnson & Johnson gained 3.5 percent after reporting quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share, 10 cents more than analyst expectations. The health company was also boosted by a US appeals court decision rejecting a $72 million judgment against J&J on allegations that talcum powder contributed to cancer.
Boeing shed 0.4 percent following news that archrival Airbus took a stake in an airliner program of Canadian plane manufacturer Bombardier that had been mired in a US-Canada trade dispute. Analysts said the tie-up would sharpen competition for Boeing in the narrow-body market.
Procter & Gamble slid 0.4 percent after disclosing that preliminary vote results showed shareholders rejected activist Nelson Peltz’s board election by a scant 0.2 percent. Peltz’ firm Trian said it would await the final results and that the outcome still can’t be determined.
Netflix dropped 1.6 percent despite reporting that quarterly profits jumped to $129 million, more than double that of the year-ago period. The streaming company announced plans to boost spending on original content to $7 to $8 billion in 2018, up from $6 billion in 2017.
Source: Brecorder.com
