Tag Archives: nasdaq

Dow hits 12th record high close; Trump talks up infrastructure spending

Leaf Group CEO Sean Moriarty (4th L) stands amongst Leaf Group management and board members for the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Monday and the Dow closed at a record high for a 12th straight session, as President Donald Trump said he would make a “big” infrastructure statement on Tuesday.

The Dow’s streak of record-high closes matches a 12-day run in 1987, with Boeing and UnitedHealth among the biggest boosts for the Dow on Monday. The S&P 500 also closed at a record high. Energy gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500, with the energy index up 0.9 percent.

Trump, who met with state governors at the White House, also said he is seeking what he called a “historic” increase in military spending of more than 9 percent, while he said his administration would be “moving quickly” on regulatory reforms.

The comments came ahead of Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening. Investors are looking for more specifics on Trump’s plans, given the hefty gains in the market since the Nov. 8 election.

“Things are moving along in terms of the Trump agenda, but we’ll get a clearer picture after tomorrow night so that might precipitate some buying or selling,” said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hellwig and others said there’s potentially more upside than downside from the address, given how the market has reacted in recent weeks.

Shares of U.S. defense companies – Boeing, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin – rose after Trump said he would seek to boost Pentagon spending by $54 billion in his first budget proposal.

Boeing was up 1.1 percent while UnitedHealth was up 1.4 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 15.68 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 20,837.44, the S&P 500 gained 2.39 points, or 0.10 percent, to 2,369.73 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.59 points, or 0.28 percent, to 5,861.90.

In its 1987 12-day streak of record-high closes, the Dow rose 9.2 percent compared with just a 3.9 percent gain in the recent record run.

While the S&P 500 is up 10.8 percent since the Nov. 8 election, the pace of the rally has slowed this year.

Trump’s promise a few weeks ago of a “phenomenal” tax announcement helped rekindle the post-election rally, driving the main U.S. markets to record highs.

Time Warner ended up 0.9 percent after news that the head of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission does not expect to review AT&T Inc’s planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner.

AT&T slipped 1.3 percent.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.87-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 63 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 143 new highs and 45 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and James Dalgleish)

World stock markets and U.S. dollar retreat before key Trump speech

Men walk past an electronic board showing Japan's Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan,

By Sinead Carew

NEW YORK (Reuters) – World stock markets and the U.S. dollar fell on Monday while U.S. Treasury yields rose amid investor caution ahead of a key speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The dollar fell ahead of Trump’s State of the Union address, during which he is expected to unveil details on pro-growth policies including infrastructure spending.

“There is setting up for what people expect might be at least a focus on things like fiscal stimulus and infrastructure spending of some kind, that might actually boost risk and cause yields to rise,” said Aaron Kohli, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets in New York.

U.S. 10-year Treasury notes were last down 7/32 in price to yield 2.342 percent, from a yield of 2.317 percent late Friday. Two-year notes US2YT=RR were last down 1/32 in price to yield 1.169 percent, from a yield of 1.145 percent late Friday.

The dollar was down 0.3 percent against a basket of major currencies after Trump said Monday that tax reform details would not be revealed until after the administration’s proposal on health care.

Investors had hoped for “more clarity around tax reform sooner rather than later” said Bipan Rai, senior macroeconomic strategist at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.62 points, or 0.03 percent, at 20,816.14, the S&P 500 shed 0.2 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,367.14, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.63 points, or 0.03 percent, to 5,846.93.

Europe’s benchmark index of leading 300 shares fell 0.1 percent.

MSCI’s benchmark world stock index slipped 0.03 percent after it hit a record high Thursday.

A proposed 29 billion euro merger between the London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Boerse to create Europe’s biggest stock exchange looked dead in the water due to an inability to meet European antitrust demands. Shares in both companies fell. The London Stock Exchange fell as much as 3 percent while Deutsche Boerse fell as much as 4 percent.

“The regulatory hurdles were always a risk, and with Brexit, there are additional hurdles to clear that seem close to insurmountable now,” said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.24 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.9 percent for its lowest close since Feb. 9 on concerns that a stronger yen would crimp corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled its 11th consecutive record high on Friday, the longest such run since 1987, leading some to suggest it could be prone for a correction.

In Europe, the focus was on France, where the latest polls showed that centrist Emmanuel Macron would score a more convincing victory over far-right and anti-euro Marine Le Pen in the presidential election’s runoff vote.

France’s 10-year bond yield fell to a one-month low of 0.88 percent.

In commodities, Brent crude was up 0.3 percent at $56.14 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.4 percent at $54.20 per barrel as a global supply glut appeared to ease.

(Additional Reporting by Jamie McGeever and Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Stocks gain on Trump policy bets; S&P breaks $20 trillion

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S.,

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A gauge of global equity stocks and markets advanced on Monday and bond yields rose as investors flocked to assets likely to benefit from reflationary policies that are expected to be implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Financials and banks in particular led equities on Wall Street higher as investors bet Trump’s tax reform plans and softer regulatory environment will boost economic growth and corporate profits.

Comments from Trump on Thursday that he plans to announce what he said would be the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks rekindled hopes for big tax cuts while the announced resignation of the Fed’s top bank regulator on Friday heightened expectations for a loosening of rules on banks.

“Investors are willing to say the prospects for growth are higher now than they were, and they’re not just saying it, they’re committing capital,” said Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group in Richmond Virginia.

Investors were also encouraged by a U.S.-Japan summit over the weekend apparently having ended smoothly without Trump talking tough on trade, currency or security issues.

In addition, Trump said on Monday the United States will be “tweaking” its trade relationship with Canada, stopping short of calling for a major realignment in a development likely to please visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 142.79 points, or 0.7 percent, to end at 20,412.16, the S&P 500 gained 12.15 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,328.25 and the Nasdaq Composite added 29.83 points, or 0.52 percent, to 5,763.96.

The advance put the S&P 500’s market capitalization above the $20 trillion mark for the first time. Apple the largest component of the S&P 500 and a core holding on Wall Street, climbed 0.9 percent to a record $133.29, breaking its prior closing high of $133.00 set on Feb. 23, 2015 and giving it a market value of about $699.3 billion.

MSCI’s all-country world index advanced 0.49 percent to notch its fourth straight advance. Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.76 percent to close at its highest since December 2015.

U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors looked to testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday and Wednesday when she gives her semiannual Humphrey Hawkins testimony before lawmakers in Washington.

Benchmark 10-year notes declined 7/32 in price to yield 2.43 percent, up from 2.41 percent late on Friday.

The dollar was up 0.18 percent against a basket of major currencies, after touching its highest in almost three weeks, on expectations reflationary policies would stoke economic growth and the possibility the Fed could be more aggressive in hiking interest rates.

In commodities, copper hit its highest since May 2015 after shipments from Chile and Indonesia, the world’s two biggest copper mines, were disrupted.

The metal last traded at $6,105.85 per tonne, up 0.26 percent on the day after climbing as high as $6,204. On Friday it jumped more than 4 percent, its biggest one-day rise in almost four years.

Oil prices pulled back from strong gains registered on Friday as the greenback strengthened and signs of rising U.S. crude output pressured prices.

International benchmark Brent crude futures settled down 2 percent at $55.59 per barrel and U.S. crude settled 1.7 percent lower at $52.93.

(Additional reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Nick Zieminski and James Dalgleish)

Wall Street opens at record highs as ‘Trump trade’ resumes

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – The main U.S. stock indexes hit record intraday highs on Monday, led by financials and industrials, as the so-called “Trump trade” sparked back to life on renewed optimism about the economy.

The three main indexes closed at record highs on Thursday and Friday rose after President Donald Trump vowed to make a major tax announcement in the next few weeks.

The S&P 500 has surged 8.3 percent since Trump’s Nov. 8 election through Friday’s close, fueled by expectations he will lower corporate taxes, reduce regulations and increase infrastructure spending.

While the rally had stalled amid concerns over Trump’s protectionist stance and lack of clarity on policy reforms, the S&P 500 has not dropped more than 1 percent in 84 trading days, indicating investors were giving Trump the benefit of doubt.

Investors were also comforted by the two-day U.S.-Japan summit held over the weekend apparently having ended smoothly without Trump talking tough on trade, currency and security issues.

The Japanese yen, the demand for which rises when risk appetite falls, was the biggest underperformer among major currencies. World stocks rose, with Asian shares rallying to a 1-1/2-year high.

Global markets are following the leader (U.S. stocks) after the resurgence of the “Trump trade”, Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial wrote in a note.

At 9:38 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 91.51 points, or 0.45 percent, at 20,360.88.

The S&P 500 was up 7.44 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,323.54 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 23.61 points, or 0.41 percent, at 5,757.73.

Six of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with financials and industrials gaining the most. The two sectors are seen benefiting the most from Trump’s policies.

Telecom stocks were down the most, 1.4 percent, due to a 1.3 percent drop in Verizon after the network carrier said it would reintroduce its unlimited data plan.

Fears of a price war hit other carriers. ATT was down 1.4 percent, T-Mobile dropped 3 percent, Sprint fell 0.4 percent.

Apple was the top stock on the S&P and the Nasdaq, rising 1 percent and closing on its record high after Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock.

Zeltiq Aesthetics surged 12.5 percent to $55.60 after Allergan said it would buy the medical device maker for about $2.48 billion. Allergan’s stock was slightly higher.

Chemours rose 14 percent after the company and DuPont said they had agreed to pay about $671 million in cash to settle several lawsuits related to the leak of a toxic chemical. DuPont’s stock was up 0.5 percent.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,987 to 691. On the Nasdaq, 1,784 issues rose and 623 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 44 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 94 new highs and six new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)

Wall St. to open higher as Trump rally reignites

Traders working in New York Stock Exchange

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks looked set for a higher open on Wednesday, with the Dow set to take a shot at 20,000, following a raft of strong quarterly earnings and optimism around President Donald Trump’s pro-growth policies.

The Trump rally, which had driven Wall Street to a series of record highs since November, had been sputtering in recent weeks as investors sought clarity on his growth initiatives.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> closed at record levels on Tuesday as the post-election rally roared back to life after Trump signed executive orders to move forward with the construction of two oil pipelines.

He also pushed chief executives of the Big Three U.S. automakers to create jobs by building more plants in the United States. Shares of Ford <F.N>, General Motors <GM.N> and Fiat Chrysler <FCAU.N> rose in premarket trading.

“You are seeing futures continue from yesterday’s euphoria as more money gets put to work,” said Drew Forman, co-head of sales and trading equity at Macro Risk Advisors in New York.

The dollar dropped to a near seven-week low on Wednesday of 99.84 as concerns about Trump’s protectionism stance on trade lingered.

Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 77 points, or 0.39 percent at 8:19 a.m. ET (1319 GMT), with 24,697 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 8.25 points, or 0.36 percent, with 118,032 contracts traded. The index hit a record high earlier in the day.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 24.75 points, or 0.49 percent, on volume of 24,262 contracts.

A largely positive fourth-quarter earnings season also boosted investor confidence. Of the 79 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, nearly 70 percent have beaten expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Gains in Boeing <BA.N> could provide the Dow <.DJI> an impetus to breach the 20,000, after coming within 90 points of the milestone a day earlier.

Boeing’s stock was up 1.11 percent premarket after the company said it expected to deliver more commercial aircrafts this year than in 2016.

Seagate <STX.O> shares surged 12.8 percent to $42.30 after the hard-disk drive maker forecast current-quarter revenue above estimates, buoyed by strong demand for its cloud-based storage products.

Aluminum producer Alcoa <AA.N> rose 2.03 percent to $38.26 after reporting a better-than-expected first quarter revenue.

AT&T <T.N> and Qualcomm <QCOM.O> are scheduled to report results after market close.

No key economic data is expected on Wednesday. Federal Reserve officials are in a self-imposed blackout period ahead of a policy-setting meeting next week.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs on bank, tech gains

traders working on floor of NYSE

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq touched intraday record highs on Tuesday and the Dow was poised for its best day of the year, lifted by gains in financial and technology stocks.

The advance comes as investors assess quarterly earnings reports, while trying to find more clarity on President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

Trump signed two executive orders on Tuesday to move forward with construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure. He also met with chief executives of the Big Three U.S. automakers to push for more cars to be built in the United States.

“He is demonstrating that he is extremely business friendly, and I thought he had a good day today,” said Stephen Massocca, Chief Investment Officer, Wedbush Equity Management LLC in San Francisco.

“The protectionist stuff will spook the market, the rest of it is spot-on.”

Profits of S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 6.7 percent in the latest quarter, marking the strongest growth in two years, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Despite stalling in recent weeks, the post-election rally has contributed to somewhat lofty valuations. The S&P 500 is trading at about 17 times forward 12-month earnings, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream, compared with the 10-year median of 14.2.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 133.5 points, or 0.67 percent, to 19,933.35, the S&P 500 gained 16.27 points, or 0.72 percent, to 2,281.47 and the Nasdaq Composite added 46.03 points, or 0.83 percent, to 5,598.98.

GM shares were up 1.5 percent and Ford rose 2.3 percent, while Fiat Chrysler jumped 6.7 percent. The S&P financial sector climbed 1.5 percent. The index had surged more than 16 percent in the wake of the election to the end of 2016 but has struggled in the new year, losing more than 1 percent through Monday.

Materials jumped nearly 3 percent and were on track for their best day since February. The sector was bolstered by a 5 percent rise in DuPont, which reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

IBM, up 2.9 percent, and Intel, up 2.6 percent, were among the top boosts to the S&P 500 and helped lift the tech sector by 1.1 percent to put the sector on track for its best day this year.

Yahoo rose 3.3 percent after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue and said the sale of its core internet business to Verizon should be completed in the second quarter.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.95-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.47-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 42 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 107 new highs and 28 new lows.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Banks, oil stocks weigh on Wall St., keep Dow from 20,000

Wall Street

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined on Monday, retreating from the historic 20,000 mark, weighed down by banks and energy companies, while a gain in technology stocks kept the Nasdaq afloat.

Of its 30 components, 20 of the Dow’s stocks were trading lower, led by Goldman Sachs’s <GS.N> 1.4 percent decline. P&G <PG.N> fell 0.9 percent and Coca-Cola <KO.N> dropped 0.5 percent after Goldman downgraded both the consumer staple stocks.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, led by the energy sector’s <.SPNY> 1.3 percent drop. Oil prices fell 2.3 percent as signs of growing U.S. output outweighed optimism that other producers were sticking to a deal to cut supply to bolster prices. [O/R]

The decline meant the Dow moved further away from the 20,000-point mark. It came tantalizingly close on Friday, hitting a record of 19,999.63 as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also touched records after a late pop in technology stocks.

The sector again helped the market on Monday.

At 9:41 a.m. ET the Dow <.DJI> was down 57 points, or 0.29 percent, at 19,906.8.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 4.91 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,272.07.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was up 7.83 points, or 0.14 percent, at 5,528.89.

“The market is building drama around 20,000 and if and when we get promising earnings reports, the Dow will go through the point like a hot knife through butter,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Wall Street’s rally since Donald Trump won the U.S. election in November, with investors betting he will introduce business-friendly policies, has led to lofty valuations.

The S&P is trading at about 17 times expected earnings, compared to its 10-year average of 14. That could make investors cautious as they gear up for the fourth-quarter earnings season.

The first peek into how companies fared last quarter will be provided later this week by big U.S. banks. S&P 500 companies overall are expected to post a 6.1 percent increase in profit in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Among stocks, Dow component UnitedHealth <UNH.N> lost 0.6 percent to $161.42 after the insurer’s Optum unit said it would buy Surgical Care Affiliates Inc <SCAI.O> for about $2.30 billion. Surgical Care’s stock was up 15 percent.

VCA Inc <WOOF.O>, which runs hospitals for animals, soared 28 percent to $90.78 after Mars Inc said it would buy the company for $7.7 billion.

Acuity Brands <AYI.N> was the biggest percentage loser on the S&P, falling 16 percent to $199.16 after the lighting solutions provider reported first quarter sales that missed analysts’ expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,741 to 915. On the Nasdaq, 1,469 issues fell and 942 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed three new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and seven new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)

Wall St. opens higher as banks, discretionary stocks rise

A street sign for Wall Street is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S. December 28, 201

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, extending gains into the second trading day of the new year, helped by advances in consumer discretionary and bank stocks.

Investors are awaiting the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s Dec. 13-14 meeting in which it raised interest rates. The minutes are due to be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.

The central bank had cited strength in the labor market and a slight uptick in inflation among reasons for its move. Investors will pore over the minutes to assess policymakers’ view on the economy and the incoming administration.

With just over two weeks left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, investors are waiting for the finer details of his proposed policies such as tax cuts and higher fiscal spending.

The S&P 500 financial sector rose 0.5 percent and provided the biggest boost to the broader index. Big U.S. banks are set on getting Congress loosen some banking regulations, seeing an opportunity in the incoming Republican-led administration.

The consumer discretionary index got a lift from Comcast, which rose 1 percent after Macquarie raised its price target to $76.

At 9:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 37.61 points, or 0.19 percent, at 19,919.37, the S&P 500 was up 7.36 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,265.19 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 21.93 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,451.02.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by gains in healthcare and utilities.

Shares of General Motors and Ford were up more than 3 percent after the automakers posted strong U.S. sales for December.

Agile Therapeutics lost 58 percent of its value in heavy trading and is set to open at a record low after the company provided an update on its contraceptive patch trial.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,196 to 528. On the Nasdaq, 1,771 issues rose and 614 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 45 new highs and three new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Wall St. set to end 2016 with a whimper

A trader wears glasses that say "2017" ahead of the new year on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., December 30, 2016.

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on the last trading day of 2016, eating into gains for the year, as Apple led a decline in technology stocks.

The S&amp;P 500 technology sector’s 0.72 percent drop put the broader index on track for its third straight day of declines, its longest losing streak since Nov. 4.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was set for its weekly decline since the U.S. election. The rally had pushed the index to within 13 points of 20,000 last week, but after three straight days of losses, the index is now about 200 points shy.

“The market is ending 2016 with a whimper. We entered the rally like a lion, but are leaving like a lamb,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director of Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

“It is disappointing on many levels as investors believed that we are going to see the Dow at 20,000. The euphoria that was in motion in the Trump rally has fizzled.”

Until Thursday, the three main Wall Street indexes were set to end the year with double-digit percentage gains. The S&P is now on track to post a gain of 9.7 percent for the year, the Nasdaq 7.8 percent and the Dow 13.7 percent.

At 12:35 p.m. ET (1735 GMT) the Dow was down 20.2 points, or 0.1 percent, at 19,799.58, the S&P 500 was down 5.87 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,243.39 and the Nasdaq Composite  was down 38.38 points, or 0.71 percent, at 5,393.71.

Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with technology and consumer discretionary stocks taking the biggest hit.

Apple was the biggest drag on all three indexes, falling 0.6 percent to $115.98 after the Nikkei financial daily reported that the company would cut production of the iPhone by about 10 percent.

Apple suppliers also dropped on the news. Qualcomm, Skyworks Solutions, Cirrus Logic and Qorvo were down between 1 percent and 2 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,444 to 1,402. On the Nasdaq, 1,795 issues fell and 1,004 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed one new 52-week high and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 35 new highs and 36 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Savio D’Souza)

Dow nears 20,000, Nasdaq hits record as tech stocks rise

A trader works on the trading floor at the opening of the day's trading at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S.,

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) – Wall Street was higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average resuming its climb toward 20,000 and the Nasdaq hitting a record as technology and health stocks rose.

The blue-chip index has been riding on a post-election rally, feeding on optimism that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for deregulation and infrastructure spending would bolster the economy.

The index, which came within 13 points of breaching the elusive 20,000 level last week, marked its seventh straight week of gains on Friday and is on track for its best quarter since 2013.

Nine of the 11 major S&amp;P 500 sectors were higher, with technology and healthcare stocks giving the broader index its biggest boost.

The defensive utilities and telecom services were the only losers.

“It is a bit of a catch-up rally today, with leadership today coming from areas such as healthcare and technology – those that have not participated fairly in the rally,” said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank.

At 11:11 a.m. ET the Dow &lt;.DJI&gt; was up 34.08 points, or 0.17 percent, at 19,967.89, after rising to as much as 19,980.24. The S&P 500 . was up 7.9 points, or 0.34 percent, at 2,271.69. The Nasdaq Composite was up 38.74 points, or 0.71 percent, at 5,501.43, easing from its record intraday high of 5,512.36.

Apple was up 0.62 percent at $117.24 and was the top stock on the three main Wall Street indexes.

Amazon.com rose 1.7 percent to $773.33 after the online retailer said it shipped over one billion items to Prime members during the holiday season.

Biogen shares rose 2 percent to $293.28 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday approved the company’s drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy, the leading genetic cause of death in infants.

Ionis Pharma, which discovered the drug licensed to Biogen, was up 5.5 percent at $56.36.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,959 to 865. On the Nasdaq, 1,853 issues rose and 834 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 20 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 124 new highs and 12 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)