Investors bet big on U.S. stocks Wednesday, giving the market its biggest single-day gain in nearly four months and pushing the major indexes to record highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose above 21,000 points for the first time.

Banks were the biggest gainers amid heightened expectations that an improving economy will lead to higher interest rates. Energy stocks also notched big gains. Utilities and real estate stocks lagged. The dollar strengthened against major currencies. Bond prices fell, as did the prices of crude oil and gold.

Optimism over corporate tax cuts, deregulation and other business-friendly policy proposals reiterated by President Trump during a speech before Congress helped fuel the rally. Growing speculation that the Federal Reserve may soon raise interest rates again also helped put traders in a buying mood.

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“We’re seeing a strong risk-on rally in the face of rising expectations of Fed action as early as March based on a belief there will be a pro-growth agenda that gets enacted,” said Bill Northey, chief investment officer of the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank. “It’s been what I would characterize as a bit of market euphoria on the back of the president’s address to the joint session of Congress last night.”

Analysis: Trump shifts from doom-and-gloom to a more optimistic vision. But he offers no clarity on how we’ll get there »

The Dow jumped 303.31 points, or 1.5%, to 21,115.55. At one point the 30-company average was up more than 356 points. The Dow hadn’t been up more than 300 points in one day since November.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 32.32 points, or 1.4%, to 2,395.96. That’s the biggest single-day gain since early November for the index, which is the benchmark favored by professional investors.

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The Nasdaq composite index advanced 78.59 points, or 1.4%, to 5,904.03. Small-company stocks continued to outpace the rest of the market, a bullish signal on the economy. The Russell 2000 index rose 26.95 points, or 1.9%, to 1,413.64.

All four indexes closed at new all-time highs. Each had set new highs last month.

Bond prices fell and yields rose after a key Federal Reserve official, New York Fed President William Dudley, said the case for raising interest rates had gotten stronger. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.46% from Tuesday’s 2.40%.

Strong gains in major global stock indexes overnight and into early Wednesday hinted at the possibility of another milestone day for Wall Street.

Better-than-expected company earnings and outlooks from Lowe’s, Big 5 Sporting Goods and other companies also helped give the market a boost.

But it is the prospect of more profitable days ahead for corporate America that encouraged investors to pile into stocks.

“The market has shifted from being worried about lower growth for longer, to expecting more growth sooner rather than later,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Cornerstone Financial Partners.

Financials led all other sectors in the S&P 500, climbing 2.8%. The sector is up 8.1% this year. JPMorgan Chase climbed 3.3% on Wednesday to $93.60. Goldman Sachs rose 1.9% to $252.71.

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Traders bid up shares in several companies that reported strong quarterly results or outlooks.

Lowe’s climbed 9.5% to $81.45. Big 5 Sporting Goods leaped 13% to $15.20.

Builders FirstSource, a maker of building materials, jumped 12.4% to $14.54, boosted by rising lumber prices.

Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises was among the biggest laggards. The energy-sector supply company sank 37.4% to $10.33 after its latest quarterly report card and guidance fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Etsy slumped 11.8% to $10.69 after the online crafts marketplace issued guidance that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations.

Impax Laboratories dived 34.7% to $9.30 after the Hayward, Calif., maker of generic drugs’ fourth-quarter results suffered because of lower prices and tough competition for key products.

Markets overseas posted solid gains. Germany’s DAX rose 2%, France’s CAC 40 gained 2.1% and Britain’s FTSE 100 picked up 1.6%. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.2%.

U.S. crude fell 18 cents to $53.83 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 15 cents to $56.36 a barrel in London.

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Wholesale gasoline fell 5 cents, or 3%, to $1.68 a gallon. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.62 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3 cents to $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The dollar rose to 113.71 yen from 112.17 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0544 from $1.0597.

The price of gold fell $3.90 to $1,250 an ounce. Silver rose 2 cents to $18.44 an ounce. Copper rose 2 cents to $2.73 a pound.

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UPDATES:

2:35 p.m.: This article was updated with closing prices, context and analysis.

This article was originally published at 8:05 a.m.</s>WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — By 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT) Wednesday, the Dow was up 0.97 percent, to 21,014.25 points.

Media reports noted it could be the fastest increase of 1,000 points in the history of the Dow if the index remains above 21,000 at the 4 p.m. closing bell.

The Dow hit 20,000 only 24 trading days earlier on January 25.</s>The Dow Jones Industrial Average has closed above 21,000 for the first time, at 21,115.55 marking one of the fastest moves to the milestone.

Several weeks ago, the gauge closed at 20,000, meaning the 1,000 jump to 21,000 took place in just 24 days, tying for the fastest ever such jump with a trading session in May 1999, Market Watch reported.

Since US President Donald Trump's inauguration, there has been increased confidence in the market, although a "wait and see" attitude remains as the Republican's policies have yet to come to fruition.

However, it appears there is increased certainty in the market as optimism about the future of the US economy grows, and the possibility of an interest rate hike appears not to have dampened such optimism.

Indeed, the market closing above 21,000 follows a record-setting 12-day winning streak, with only a slight snap ahead of Trump's first ever joint session address to Congress.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 25.2 points, or 0.1%, to settle at 20,812.24 on Tuesday. The blue-chip gauge gained 4.8% in February after coming off its longest streak since 1987. According to Dow Jones Data Group, had the Dow posted gains on Tuesday, it would have marked its 13th straight record for the first time in its history.

"Investors are setting up to potentially sell the news," Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, told CNBC ahead of Trump's address. "Investors have been 'buying the rumour', in this case Trump's speech, and now there's a lot of pent-up selling" (if the president did not deliver what the market wants).

However, since the president's speech, the market has risen once again.</s>On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sprang over 300 points, crossing through 21,000. The massive leap was attributed to President Donald Trump’s optimistic view of future U.S. growth under his administration.

The 300-point gain mirrored another similar gain made the day before Election Day. And the latest drive ties the Dow’s fastest move between thousand-point markers in history, the last in 1999 when the index jumped from 10,000 to 11,000 in 24 sessions (provided by the Wall Street Journal).

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: ) led the Dow Jones up 1.5% with a gain of 2% to an intraday high of over $140. The S&P 500 rose 1.4%, the Nasdaq gained 1.3% and the Russell 2000 jumped 1.9%.

In addition to the president’s optimistic address, the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in March is high. Comments from several members, including Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley, indicated that a quarter-point rise is likely to occur at the next FOMC meeting in March.

With a rate hike appearing probable, bank stocks jumped driving the financial sector up 2.8%. The charge higher was led by Bank of America Corp (NYSE: ), up 3.6%, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: ), up 3.3%.

But the drive higher has also had an impact on the true average price of stocks, their price-to-earnings ratio. That ratio for the S&P 500 now is at about 22 times its member stocks’ last 12 months earnings. The 10-year look-back average is about 16X, according to FactSet.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 303 points, closing at 21,116, the S&P 500 rose 32 at 2,396, the Nasdaq gained 79 points at 5,904 and the Russell 2000 closed at 1,414 for a gain of 27 points. The NYSE primary exchange traded 799 million shares with total volume of 4.3 billion shares, and the Nasdaq crossed 2.2 billion shares. On the Big Board, advancers led decliners by 2.1-to-1, and on the Nasdaq, advancers led by 3-to-1. Blocks on the NYSE increased to 7,127 from 6,896 on Tuesday.

Even though the Dow failed to achieve a 13-session record rally, it more than made up for it yesterday. A 116-point continuation gap confirmed the feelings of Wall Street about the goals of the new president. The day opened with a 240-point gap, which was later reduced to 116 points, putting the bulls firmly in command.

Conclusion: The stock market will do what it can to confound the most number of investors possible. The 24-session rally from Dow 20,000 to 21,000 followed a long, tedious pounding of the 20,000 mark. But the last 1,000 points mark the second-fastest run to a round number on record. (Figures courtesy of Michael Ashbaugh.) Michael also correctly points out that “Each 1,000-point marker is easier to reach, as it constitutes a smaller percentage of the base.”

However, I’m not convinced that the rally will continue at such a fever pitch in the face of the next major obstacle. In mid-March, the Fed decides whether to raise rates. If stocks continue at this torrid pace, is it possible that a ½% rate rise would be considered? Let’s hope not.

To see a list of the companies reporting earnings today, click here.

For a list of this week’s economic reports due out, click here.



Tell us what you think about this article! Drop us an email at editor@investorplace.com, chat with us on Twitter at @InvestorPlace or comment on the post on Facebook. Read more about our comments policy here.</s>Indian stock markets preferred to follow global cues on Thursday, shrugging off scepticism on the country's December quarter (Q3) data published two days ago. The BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty hit two-year-high in early trade after the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) crossed the 21,000-mark for the first time in its history.

The 30-scrip Sensex was trading at 29,004 at around 2.04 pm after hitting an intraday high of 29,145 and was just about 1,000 points away from its all-time high of 30,024 scaled on March 4, 2015.

The Nifty was almost flat at 8,945, down from its intraday high of 8,991. The all-time high for the 50-scrip index is 9,003 recorded on March 3, 2015.

Stocks that hit new 52-week high on Thursday included Vedanta, Tata Steel, Mothersumi Systems and GMR Infra.

The rally on US stock markets saw the DJIA crossing the 21,000-mark on Wednesday and gaining 1.46 percent to close at 21,115 after traders cheered US president Donald Trump's first Congressional address that was presumably devoid of any protectionist rhetoric.

"What's really changed on the economic front is tough to say. But the Trump speech moved expectations higher. Now it'll be a surprise if [the Fed doesn't] raise rates," the Marketwatch quoted Ryan Detrick, senior market strategist for LPL Financial.

Market sentiments on Indian stock markets were also buoyed after most of the car-makers reported robust growth in volume sales for February 2017, indicating that demonetisation blues were almost over.

The scepticism over the Narendra Modi government's December quarter (Q3) data that showed the Indian economy expanded by seven percent has apparently failed to have any impact on investors.

The positive mood in India was also boosted by the PMI manufacturing survey for February that rose to 50.7 from 50.4 in January and a low of 49.6 in December last year. A reading below 50 means contraction.</s>The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged above 21,000 for the first time, as investors embraced optimism from President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve officials.

The blue-chip index was up about 230 points shortly after the opening bell, rising 1.1 percent to 21,041. The S&P 500 rose 1 percent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.9 percent, following gains in Asia and Europe.

Stocks have been soaring since Election Day, with the Dow industrials surpassing 19,000, 20,000 and now 21,000.

If the level holds through the closing bell, it will tie the fastest thousand-point jump in history: It took 24 sessions from the first close above 10,000 for the index to climb to 11,000 in 1999.

The latest milestone came after Mr. Trump struck an optimistic tone in a speech to Congress on Tuesday evening, although he offered few new details for his agenda. Investors were also focused on the likelihood of the Fed raising interest rates in March, following comments from a number of officials suggesting another quarter-point rate increase could come at the central bank’s next meeting.

Fed-fund futures, used by investors to place bets on central bank policy, showed a roughly 66 percent chance of a rate rise in March, up from 35 percent Tuesday, according to CME Group.

U.S. government bonds weakened and the dollar jumped. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against 16 others, was recently up 0.5 percent. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.449 percent, according to Tradeweb, from 2.358 percent Tuesday. Yields rise as prices fall.

“We didn’t get a lot of new things out of President Trump,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management. “The market took its cues from the Federal Reserve. They view the economy as strong and are looking to hike rates this year.”

New York Fed President William Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, on Tuesday said the case for raising rates “has become a lot more compelling” in light of the economy’s current and expected performance. San Francisco Fed President John Williams also said in a speech Tuesday that a rate increase at the central bank’s meeting in March was “very much on the table for serious consideration.”

Bank stocks surged. Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent, leading gains. Bank of America rose 3.4 percent and Morgan Stanley added 2.9 percent.

Higher interest rates tend to boost the profitability of banks’ lending activities.

The prospect of higher U.S. rates rippled across to Europe, pulling local government bond yields higher across the board.

“The bond market doesn’t look great over the next 12 to 18 months. It looks like the Fed is committed to a path of normalization,” said Bob Michele, head of the global fixed income, currencies and commodities group at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “We see growth and inflationary pressures picking up globally.”

In Asia, a weakening yen helped Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average close up 1.4 percent. The dollar was recently up 0.9 percent at ¥ 113.812, helping to lift Japanese companies that sells goods abroad.</s>Dow 20,000, we hardly knew ye. The Dow Jones industrial...</s>Stocks surge on Wall Street, sending Dow Jones industrials to their first close above 21,000 points.</s>NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at over 21,00 points for the first time ever on Wednesday. It gained more than 300 points to close at 21,115.

The market has soared more than 15 percent since Donald Trump won the presidency. As Jim Axelrod reports, President Trump’s address to Congress deepened optimism that corporate earnings will continue to climb.

“The combination of proposals — corporate tax cuts, the loosening of regulations — is exactly what Wall Street wants to hear,” Axelrod told Scott Pelley on the “CBS Evening News.”

Watch the video above for more from Axelrod’s report, including why one investor says the market is like a voting machine.</s>The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared to a record closing high on Tuesday, breaking through levels last seen in 2007 and as investors rushed in to join the party in anticipation of more gains.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average shot up 126.18 points, or 0.89 percent, to end unofficially at 14,253.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 14.60 points, or 0.96 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,539.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index was jumped 42.10 points, or 1.32 percent, to close unofficially at 3,224.13.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises above 21,000 points, reaching an all-time high.