Dow breaches 26,000 mark on reports of robust earnings

NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes rose sharply on Tuesday, with the Dow hitting the 26,000 mark for the first time, as the fourth-quarter earnings season kicked into high gear.

UnitedHealth rose 2.2% after the largest US health insurer reported results that beat analysts’ estimates and raised its full-year profit forecast. Citigroup Inc. jumped 1.4% after the lender reported profit that topped Wall Street expectations.

Hopes of strong quarterly earnings, supported by steep cut in corporate taxes, and solid global economic growth have bolstered Wall Street’s optimism in the start to 2018.

“Not only is the US coming off a strong quarter, but the new tax reform measures are continuing to provide a boost, with investors keen to hear more about what impact this will have on future earnings,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at online foreign exchange broker Oanda.

More than three quarters of the 26 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have topped profit estimates, according to Thomson Reuters.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 225.34 points, or 0.87%, at 26,028.53, helping it record its fastest 1000-point rise.

The S&P 500 was up 18.09 points, or 0.65%, at 2,804.33 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 62.08 points, or 0.85%, at 7,323.14.