Dow industrials closed at record high, up 40.59 points

The Dow industrials closed at a record high on Thursday, up 40.59 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,652.79, driven by major gains in Wal-Mart, Cisco, Boeing, and Microsoft.

Wal-Mart closed up 4.7 percent at $82.94 after posting higher same-store sales.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York, told MoneyControl:

“Wal-Mart is showing strength, showing the natural relation it should have with (lower) energy prices,”

Adding:

“But while we’re waiting for (other) consumer stocks to rise, lower energy prices continue to be a headwind,”

Other notable gains include Cisco, which closed up 2.27 percent at $25.68.

Boeing was up by 2.11 percent, closing at $128.53.

Microsoft gained 1.70 percent, closing at $49.61 – overtaking Exxon Mobil as America’s second-largest publicly traded company after Apple Inc.

The S&P 500 only went up by 0.05 percent, or 1.08 points, as energy sector stocks weighed on the index.

Energy shares took a nosedive as Brent crude dropped below $78 per barrel and US crude slipped by 3.6 percent to $74.39 per barrel – their lowest levels in four years.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.11 percent, 5 points, closing at 4,680.14.