Dow’s rally driven by 2 blue-chip stocks

The Dow can thank two stocks for almost all of its nearly 170point gain Tuesday and its run to another record high.

At the close, the Dow was up

168 points, after gaining as much as 211 points, to close at 23,441.76 — its 54th record close of 2017.

Sizable earnings beats from Dow components Caterpillar and

3M fueled big rallies in both stocks. Shares of earth-moving machine maker Caterpillar, which topped third-quarter earnings expectations by 68 cents and raised its outlook, jumped $6.44, or nearly 5%, to $138.12.

And 3M, which makes Post-it Notes and posted better-than-expected earnings and sales, surged

$13.05, or nearly 6%, to $234.60. The Dow is a price-weighted index, which means members with higher stock prices move its price the most. Of the Dow’s nearly 168-point gain Tuesday,

3M accounted for 89 points and Caterpillar added 44 points. Between the two names, they accounted for nearly 80% of the Dow’s daily point gain.

Tuesday’s rally was again driven by strong corporate earnings, continuing a trend that has been in place all of 2017 and which is being driven by strengthening economies around the world.

The Dow’s 0.72% gain Tuesday is far better than the 0.16% advance for the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, which is driven by stocks with the biggest market values, as opposed to price.

U.S. stocks continue to rise despite a market that is expensive by historical standards. The rally also comes at a time when the Federal Reserve has started to take away stimulus that it injected into the system following the

2008 financial crisis.

The Fed has hiked short-term interest rates twice this year and has hinted at a third rate increase when it meets in December. Higher borrowing costs are generally viewed as a headwind for stocks.

Despite the threat of higher rates, investors are focusing on the strong earnings season and global economic uptick.