3M, Caterpillar lift Dow to record high
NEW YORK: A surge in the shares of industrial giants Caterpillar and 3M catapulted the blue-chip Dow Jones index to a fresh record yesterday. 3M jumped 4.7 percent on better-than-expected earnings, while Caterpillar rose 4.9 percent after handily beating profit and sales estimates and raising its full-year forecast.
Other Dow components, United Technologies and McDonald’s, also notched up gains in morning trading following strong quarterly reports. “The reaction to earnings from the Dow components is in favor,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas. “Chances are, with this strong an opening, it will likely remain positive.” Thirdquarter earnings season has been largely positive, with three quarters of the 97 S&P 500 companies that have reported results as of Monday beating profit estimates. That and rising hopes of President Donald Trump’s tax plans moving forward have helped the Dow and S&P close at record highs on all five trading days last week.
Investors are also keeping a watch on any news around the nomination of the new Federal Reserve chief. Trump told reporters on Monday he is “very, very close” to deciding who should chair the Fed after interviewing five candidates for the position.
At 9:37 am ET (1337 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 178.79 points, or 0.77 percent, at 23,452.75, the S&P 500 was up 5.06 points, or 0.20 percent, at 2,570.04 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 7.21 points, or 0.11 percent, at 6,594.04. —Agencies