Stocks got the New Year off to a roaring start Thursday with more solid gains and record highs for major U.S. indexes, following up on a strong finish to 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 300 points, as shares in Walt Disney, Boeing, Apple and other big companies rose. Technology sector stocks accounted for a good part of the upward move. Smaller-company stocks lagged the broader market’s gains.
The market has been grinding higher for weeks, pushing indexes to record highs, as concerns about the strength of the economy and the possibility of further escalation in the U.S.-China trade war have eased. Three interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and signals that the central bank is in no hurry to raise rates this year have also helped steady markets after a summer slump.
“At this point, the momentum we saw in December is carrying into January,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird. “It might take a little bit to really figure out whether the optimism expressed in U.S. stocks all of last year is warranted with respect to fundamentals, but for now, the benefit of the doubt is with the bulls.”
The S&P 500 climbed 27.07 points, or 0.8%, to 3,257.85. The Dow rose 330.36 points, or 1.2%, to 28,868.80. The Nasdaq composite gained 119.58 points, or 1.3%, to 9,092.19. All three indexes notched new record highs.