Stocks end mixed as Dow climbs further above 20,000 mark
Stock indexes wavered between small gains and losses before ending mixed Thursday as investors sized up the latest company earnings news. Consumer goods and industrial stocks climbed the most, while health care and utilities were among the biggest laggards.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed further above the 20,000 level it passed Wednesday. gaining 32 points, or 0.2% to 20,100.91.
Wall Street came off solid gains from the day before. The Dow Jones industrial average, after topping the magic 20K milestone and staying there, hit a record closing high along with the Nasdaq composite and the S&P 500.
On Thursday the Nasdaq slipped fractionally, losing just 0.02% to 5655.18. Off a little less than 0.1% was the S&P 500, now at 2296.68.
It’s been a record-making week on Wall Street. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite closed at all-time highs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Dow, which tracks 30 major industrial companies, added its own milestone Wednesday after it breached the 20,000 mark for the first time.
The market is getting a general boost from strong company earnings and investor optimism that the Trump administration’s policies on taxes, regulation and trade will be good for business.
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Oil prices jumped as benchmark U.S. crude oil was up $1.07, or 2%, at $53.82 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was up $1.08, or 1.9%, at $56.50 a barrel in London.
Overseas, Germany’s DAX was up 0.4%, while the CAC-40 in France was 0.2% lower. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up less than 0.1%.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.8% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.4%. Markets in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and other Asian countries are about to begin holidays of varying lengths to mark the lunar new year, curtailing trading across much of the region.