Jan. 16 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke past 26,000 on Tuesday as economic optimism over corporate earnings continues to rise.
The latest round-number hit comes just 12 days after the Dow hit 25,000 — the fastest run between 1,000-point milestones in history.
The S&P 500 also traded above 2,800 for the first time while the Nasdaq advanced to a record.
“The boring stock market of 2017 has turned on the burners two weeks into the new year,” Frank Cappelleri, executive director at Instinet, said to CNBC.
Earnings are off to a strong start so far in 2018. Of the S&P 500 companies that had reported as of last week, 69 percent have surpassed earnings-per-share estimates while 85 percent have beaten expectations.
“It’s all about earnings right now,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial, said. “Improvement in the quality of earnings and optimistic outlooks are driving this market higher. It’s momentum feeding on itself.”
Alexandra Coupe, the associate director for PAAMCO, cited tax reform, good economic data and investor enthusiasm as the reasons for the continued surge.
“These dynamics underpin a ‘me too’ investor euphoria, which is carrying the Dow up and over 26,000,” Coupe said.
