Dow climbs above 19,000 for first time
The Dow jumped above 19,000 early yesterday for the first time as US stocks continued to rally after Republicans swept the November 8 presidential and congressional elections.
The Dow got as high as 19,013.12 before pulling back a bit. All three major US stock indices closed at records Monday in anticipation of pro-growth policies under President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. “The market rise represents optimism that the types of policies implemented will eventually translate to faster economic growth and stronger earnings growth,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. “This morning, that same broad narrative remains in place.”
About 25 minutes into trade, the Dow was at 18,994.18, up 0.2 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 2,202.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 percent to 5,387.92. Retailers were strong ahead of the holiday shopping season, which kicks off with the annual “Black Friday” sales this week the day after Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. Amazon, Wal-Mart Stores and Target were all up more than one percent. Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks tumbled 12.9 percent as it projected second-quarter revenues of $426 to $432 million, below the $438.9 million expected by Wall Street analysts. Medtronic, a medical device company, sank 8.5 percent as it reported lowerthan-expected sales ahead of new product introductions for treating diabetes and cardiac and vascular ailments. Dollar Tree surged 10.1 percent as the discount store chain reported that thirdquarter net income more than doubled to $171.6 million.