Oct. 20 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed just short of a record high on Wednesday as markets were propelled by a record day for bitcoin.
The blue-chip dow gained 152.03 points, or 0.43%, to close at 35,609.34, 0.1% short of its record close after touching an all-time high of 35,669.69 earlier in the session.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.37%, logging six straight days of gains as it hovered near its own record high, and the Nasdaq Composite was mostly flat, dipping 0.049%.
The price of bitcoin surpassed $66,000 and rose to an all-time high of $66,893 on Wednesday.
Bitcoin prices have been on the rise for the past four weeks amid positive regulatory developments and the launch of the first bitcoin-linked ETF by Proshares on Tuesday.
Shares of the ETF rose by nearly 5% in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.
Netflix stock fell 2.17% and United Airlines dropped 0.58% despite both companies reporting better-than-expected earnings after the bell on Tuesday.
Through Tuesday, 86% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings that surpassed estimates and third-quarter earnings are on pace to increase 35% from last year.
After investors had expressed concerns that supply chain issues could hold back profits in the quarter, Jon Adams, BMO Capital Markets senior investment strategist, told Yahoo Finance he believes they were “too pessimistic” with their expectations.
“We think the strength will continue into the fourth quarter, we’re not overly concerned about profit margins,” Adams said. “We are closely monitoring supply chain issues and increasing wage pressures but still think that profit margins are at healthy levels, and there’s more upside to come.”
