US close: Dow powers through 25,000 as records tumble
US shares continued their powerful start to the new year with the Dow Jones index breaching 25,000 points for the first time.
At the close the Dow was up 0.61% or 152 points to 25,074, led by advances in IBM and Goldman Sachs, alongside a rise of 0.4% or 10.85 points for the S&P 500 to 2,724 and an increase of 0.18% or 12.38 points to 7,078 for the Nasdaq Composite.
Stoking buying interest, consultancy ADP reported a 250,000 person increase in private sector hiring during December, outpacing a consensus forecast for a 190,000 person jump.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said the upbeat outlook from the Federal Reserve minutes investor sentiment.
“The minutes from the latest Fed meeting last night showed that US central bankers predict a tick up in economic activity from the tax reforms introduced by President Trump," he said.
In other economic news, initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 to 250,000 over the week ending on 30 December, according to the Department of Labor (consensus: 230,000).
In corporate news, electric car maker Tesla was in the red after saying late on Wednesday that it delivered fewer vehicles than expected in the fourth quarter and pushing back its production target for the Model 3
Elsewhere, Intel Corp retreated after the technology company said on Wednesday that its chips have a security vulnerability that will require software patches. Sector rival AMD on the other hand rose on the news.
Shares of agricultural giant Monsanto were also in demand despite posting first quarter adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents cents on the back of $2.66bn in revenues, both of which were shy of analysts' forecasts.
The owner of Victoria's Secret, L Brands, plummeted after the firm lowered its guidance for its fourth quarter EPS to roughly $2.0, from a range of between $1.95 to $2.10.
Sears Holdings fell after announcing plans to close more than 100 Sears and Kmart stores in March and April of this year while Macy’s shares were also lower as it reported an increase in its holiday same-store sales, but also said it would be closing outlets in early 2018.
Walgreens Boots Alliance shares were down 5.2%, despite a 4.1% rise in first quarter sales year on year. The company reported lower sales from its UK Boots pharmacy chain.
Dow Jones - Risers
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $161.60 4.76%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $74.35 3.41%
General Electric Co. (GE) $18.53 3.09%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $86.66 1.92%
American Express Co. (AXP) $100.83 1.91%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $130.33 1.69%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $57.09 1.55%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $224.56 1.54%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $159.38 1.49%
Visa Inc. (V) $116.14 1.42%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.51 -1.67%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.67 -1.61%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $39.02 -0.38%
Boeing Co. (BA) $296.55 -0.10%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $63.47 -0.02%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $127.80 0.17%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $256.52 0.33%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $173.82 0.35%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $132.54 0.42%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.28 0.43%
S&P 500 - Risers
SCANA Corp. (SCG) $46.40 19.37%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $11.83 8.14%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $15.94 6.05%
Apache Corp. (APA) $46.81 5.67%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $68.24 5.37%
Hess Corp. (HES) $50.41 5.35%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $73.12 5.18%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $31.72 5.07%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $71.00 4.98%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $307.45 4.95%
S&P 500 - Fallers
L Brands Inc (LB) $51.00 -14.84%
Macy's Inc. (M) $24.44 -7.11%
Kroger Co. (KR) $26.94 -4.81%
Dominion Energy Inc. (D) $76.73 -4.42%
Federal Realty Inv Trust (FRT) $128.51 -3.92%
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) $49.08 -3.75%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $15.39 -3.75%
Macerich Co (MAC) $64.12 -3.74%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $34.37 -3.55%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $32.69 -3.48%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $46.89 4.25%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $109.21 3.84%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.34 2.78%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $112.03 2.42%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $70.64 2.02%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.30 1.82%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $161.92 1.73%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $161.00 1.63%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $43.62 1.61%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $72.69 1.59%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $71.67 -5.09%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $56.24 -2.67%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $383.51 -2.61%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $98.39 -2.57%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $107.11 -2.41%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $89.98 -2.28%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $106.99 -1.97%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $376.80 -1.83%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.51 -1.67%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $122.96 -1.59%