Credit: Shutterstock photoThe Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed over 20,000 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set record highs on Wednesday as investor's appetite for risk was rekindled after President Trump signed executive orders advancing infrastructure projects. Financials were leading the charge with substantial gains in the health care and industrial sectors.
Fueled by gains in component stock Boeing ( BA ) after the airline maker beat Q4 earnings estimates, the blue chip index blew through the 20K milestone at the open. The breakout was triggered Tuesday by executive orders signed by President Trump aimed at increasing infrastructure projects. Additionally, the GOP is planning to introduce a bill to increase infrastructure spending which will likely steer tax dollars into industries that provide engineering and construction services, as well as materials for these projects.
In corporate news, Cisco ( CSCO ) said it will acquire AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, Textron ( TXT ) is buying Artic Cat ( ACAT ) for $247 million, while Bob Evans ( BOBE ) is getting into the potato business by selling its restaurants to Golden Gate Capital for $565 million, and buying Pineland Farms Potato Company for $115 million.
Economic data was quite light with just the Federal Housing Finance Agency home price index which rose 0.5% in November, in-line with expectations. Home prices rose a revised 0.3% in October, initially reported as +0.4%.
European equities were also higher in respect of gains made by their U.S. counterparts with banking stocks driving the Euro Stoxx 600 to its highest level in 13 months. Metal and mining stocks lifted the UK's FTSE-100 out of a five-day losing streak despite a stronger British pound.
Crude oil was up $0.04 to $53.22 per barrel. Natural gas was up $0.06 to $3.36 per 1 million BTU. Gold was down $10.30 to $1,200.50 an ounce, while silver was down $0.24 to $16.95 an ounce. Copper was unchanged at $2.71 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund was up 0.44% to $11.42 with the United States Natural Gas Fund was up 1.33% to $8.39. Amongst precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF was down 2.01% to 23.34 while SPDR Gold Shares were down 0.80% to $114.35. The iShares Silver Trust was down 0.93% to $16.07.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index was up 72.60 points (+0.65%) to 11,321.82
Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 133.75 (+0.67%) to 20,047.35
S&P 500 was up 13.66 points (+0.60%) to 2,293.71
Nasdaq Composite Index was up 39.70 points (+0.71%) to 5,640.77
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 was up 22.54 points (+0.32%) to 7,172.88
DAX was up 231.71 points (+2.00%) to 11,826.65
CAC 40 was up 55.80 points (+1.16%) to 4,885.83
Nikkei 225 was up 269.51 points (+1.43%) to 19,057.50
Hang Seng Index was up 99.26 points (+0.43%) to 23,049.12
Shanghai China Composite Index was up 7.00 points (+0.22%) to 3,149.55
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index was up 72.18 points (+0.63%) to 11,544.95
NYSE Financial Sector Index was up 61.59 points (+0.87%) to 7,137.75
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index was up 92.01 points (+0.78%) to 11,909.98
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) ACAT (+41.71%) Agreed to be acquired by Textron ( TXT ) for $247 million
(+) BOBE (+23.52%) Will sell Bob Evans restaurants to Golden Gate Capital for $565 million and acquire Pineland Farms Potato Company
(+) STX (+19.56%) Beat Q2 estimates and issued strong revenue forecast for Q3
(+) LOGI (+13.85%) Reported better-than-expected fiscal Q3 results
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) HZN (-12.50%) Reported preliminary 2016 results, announced proposed offering of 4.03 million shares and $115 million in convertible notes
(-) TXT (-11.28%) Missed Q4 revenue and EPS estimates, acquiring Artic Cat
(-) LN Missed (-10.14%) Q4 profit and sales estimates
(-) NEWT (-5.75%) Priced 2.3 million stock offering at 6% discount to Tuesday's closing price
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2016 MTNewswires.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
