Dow Jones breaks above 22,000 for first time

By Alexander Joe

The Dow Jones broke above 22,000 level on Wednesday for the first time ever after Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly results – sending its share price up by as much as 6%.

The US index, which is comprised of 30 major US stocks, opened at 22,004.36 after closing at 21,963.92 on Tuesday. The DJIA climbed to as high as 22,036.10 before ending the day at 22,016.24.

Other Dow components apart from Apple that were among the leading risers included fast food giant McDonald’s and engineering group United Technologies.

Since the beginning of the year Dow has increased by almost 11%.

The tech-focused Nasdaq index rose by 24.37 points or 0.38% to 6,387.31, while the broader S&P 500 index remained relatively flat at 2,476.93.

Companies in the S&P 500 index earned 9.1% more in the March to June period this year compared to the same quarter in 2016, according to Factset.

President Trump tweeted: “Stock Market could hit all-time high (again) 22,000 today. Was 18,000 only 6 months ago on Election Day. Mainstream media seldom mentions!”.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, was quoted by Sky as saying: “It’s not the fastest 1,000 point run – it’s taken a lot longer than the 24 sessions it took to get from 20k to 21k – but it’s indicative of a bull market speeding to a top.

“The Dow is now up more than 11% this year, while the Nasdaq is up more than 18%.

“But August is usually not a great month for stocks – up 5 times in the last 20 – so there is caution about how long this can be sustained beyond earnings season euphoria.”

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, told CITY A.M:

“Even though we may see the odd pullback, the bullish sentiment won’t be shaken off lightly.

“As always, investors are unnerved by goings on in the White House but, by the looks of it, we would need to see a major scandal break before traders get spooked.”