The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 20,000 mark for the first time Wednesday, the latest milestone in a record-setting drive for the stock market.
Strong earnings from Boeing and other big companies helped push the Dow past the threshold early on and had U.S. stocks solidly higher by afternoon. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite were on course for record highs of their own after each closed at all-time highs on Tuesday.
Financial stocks were leading the gainers, while real estate, phone companies and other high-dividend stocks were among the biggest laggards as bond yields rose.
The Dow, which tracks 30 major industrial companies, gained 151 points, or 0.8 percent, to 20,064 as of 1:09 p.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index rose 15 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,295. The Nasdaq added 45 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,646.
The market has been marching steadily higher since bottoming out in March 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The rally continued after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president last fall. The Dow first closed above 10,000 on March 29, 1999.
