Dow’s close is first above 26,000

A broad rally on Wall Street propelled the Dow Jones industrial average to close above 26,000 points for the first time Wednesday.

The sharp gains also delivered record highs for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Nasdaq composite, wiping out the market’s modest losses from a day earlier.

Technology and health care companies accounted for much of the gains. Financials stocks also rose, even as some big banks fell after reporting hefty quarterly losses.

The Dow gained 322.79 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 26,115.65.

The S&P 500 index rose 26.14 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,802.56. The Nasdaq rose 74.59 points, or 1 percent, to 7,298.28. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 13.69 points, or 0.9 percent, to 1,586.66.

The Dow traded above the 26,000-point threshold on Tuesday but wound up closing lower. Its surge Wednesday was driven in part by a gain in Boeing.

It’s been just eight trading days since the Dow had its first close above 25,000 on Jan. 4. It took the Dow 23 days to go from 24,000 to 25,000 points.

Investors have been encouraged by strong global growth, rising company earnings and the prospects for further corporate profits thanks to the tax overhaul signed into law last month, which cut the top tax rate for corporations from 35 percent to 21 percent.

Technology stocks were again some of the biggest winners. Lam Research led the S&P 500 with an increase of $14.69, or 7.7 percent, to $205.08. Investors also bid up health care stocks, including Anthem. The insurer rose $7.40, or 3.1 percent, to $249.15.

Industrial stocks rose after the Federal Reserve said U.S. industrial production increased 0.9 percent in December. Boeing rose $18.85, or 4.7 percent, to $351.01.

Some big companies were left out of Wednesday’s rally.

Ford Motor slumped 7 percent falling 92 cents to $12.18, after the automaker gave a disappointing profit forecast for the year because of weaker sales in the U.S., higher commodity costs and its investments in new electric and hybrid cars.

Goldman said it lost $1.93 billion in the fourth quarter as the investment bank had to record more than $4 billion in charges related to the new tax law. Goldman’s trading desks had a weak quarter. The stock declined $4.81, or 1.9 percent, to $253.65.

Bank of America’s fourthquarter profits fell by nearly half from a year ago, as the bank had to book $2.9 billion in charges related to the tax law. The stock slid 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $31.18.

U.S. crude rose 24 cents to $63.97 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 23 cents to $69.38 a barrel.

Gold rose $2.10 to $1,339.20 an ounce. Silver dropped 2 cents to $17.17 an ounce. Copper fell 3 cents to $3.19 a pound.

The dollar rose to 111.13 yen from 110.30 yen on Wednesday. The euro fell to $1.2235 from $1.2271.

Heating oil futures rose a penny to $2.07 a gallon. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.86 a gallon. Natural gas rose 10 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $3.23 per 1,000 cubic feet.

European markets finished lower. Germany’s DAX lost 0.5 percent, and the CAC 40 in France slipped 0.4 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined 0.4 percent.