Dow, S & P up to record a record as the economy progresses

By Thomas Heath | Washington Post

US equity markets shattered records on Thursday as investors shut down politics, natural disasters and trade to focus on a thriving economy that generates solid profits for businesses.

The industrial average of the S & P 500 and the Dow Jones ended Thursday at record levels, ending respectively at 0.79% and 0.95%. The S & P closed up 22.80 points to 2,930.75. The Dow finished up 251 points, a 0.95% gain on the day to close at 26,656.98. The highly technical Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.98% at 8,028.23.

This is the 19th S & P record that ends this year and its 89th since the election of 2016. The Dow has recorded its 12th new high of the year and its 100th new high since the election.

"The Dow has reached more than 200 highs since the trough of the market, which means that investors had 200 reasons to sell at a high level and all these reasons were wrong," said Daniel Wiener, chairman of Adviser Investments. a company based in Newton, Massachusetts.

President Donald Trump, who made the stock exchange one of the pillars of his presidency, jumped on the train Thursday morning stating in a tweet: "S & P 500 HITS ALL-TIME HIGH Congratulations USA!

Analysts said investors reacted to corporate share buybacks, strong growth in the US economy and a new quarter's forecast.

Scott Wren, global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said the second quarter results were up 25 percent from the previous year and more than 80 percent of companies had exceeded Wall Street expectations.

Much of the profits and stock gains come at the back of the pack as a result of the corporate tax cut adopted in December. According to a recent report by three economists from the Federal Reserve, the first three months of the year were marked by a dramatic rise in business buybacks compared to the previous quarter. Redemptions tend to increase a company's stock price by reducing the number of shares in the market.

"It seems like the market is going crazy, but stock markets behave like stock markets," said Binky Chadha, head of asset allocation at Deutsche Bank. .

Thursday's earnings were broad and deep.

Of the 30 components of Dow, there were only two spoilers. Large Chevron tanker and Home Depot home improvement retailer saw their shares fall.

"There has been a change in attitude … a move towards safety," said Wiener. "Investors have focused on more industries. It's a battleship, balanced companies with a strong dividend yield and strong dividend growth. You are watching Intel, Visa, IBM, Caterpillar and Disney. "

On Thursday, the solid US economy received another blue sky report with an announcement on US Labor Department jobs that showed layoffs are at their lowest rate in 49 years.