Trains and pharma boost Dow and S&P – New York Report
THE DOW and S&P 500 yesterday extended their run of record high closes for a fourth session, led by transport and healthcare shares.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 39.81 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 17,613.74, the S&P 500 gained 6.34 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,038.26, and the Nasdaq Composite added 19.08 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 4,651.62.
The Dow Jones transportation average jumped 1.3 per cent, also closing at a record high, led by railways and airlines. Union Pacific rose 1.8 per cent to $120.90, among the top gainers on the S&P 500, while JetBlue jumped 4.2 per cent to $13.09.
S&P healthcare climbed one per cent, led by Abbvie, up 3.7 per cent at $63.79, the biggest percentage gainer on the index.
The third-quarter earnings season has nearly ended, but a handful of high-profile retailers have yet to report. Wal-Mart, due to report on Thursday, climbed 0.9 per cent to $79.44.
Cable providers’ shares fell after US President Barack Obama said the Federal Communications Commission should reclassify broadband to regulate it more like a public utility.
Comcast lost four per cent to $52.95 and was among the most actively traded Nasdaq stocks.
Time Warner Cable fell 4.9 per cent to $136.50.
On the Nasdaq 100, the largest gainer was Baidu, up 4.7 per cent at $247.58, while the largest decliner was Charter Communications, down 6.2 per cent at $146.62.