JaysonPhotography/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Record closes for all three major indices on Wednesday, including a new milestone for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, despite a poor month for new home starts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 160.16 on Wednesday, finishing the day at 23,157.60 — the first ever close above 23,000.
The Nasdaq added 0.56, reaching 6,624.22 at the session’s end, while the S&P 500 set a new record of 2,561.26 — gaining 1.9 on the day.
The gains have been driven by stronger than expected earnings for many U.S. companies, as well as the hopes of those companies that President Trump’s tax reform plan could lower taxes on them. Wednesday, IBM’s strong report drove its best day of trade since 2009.
Thursday is the 30th anniversary of the Stock Market Crash of 1987, when the S&P 500 dropped more than 20 percent, the largest one-day drop in U.S. history.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the White House’s tax reform plan is of major importance. If it doesn’t pass, he claims, the stock market will tank.
And new home construction fell nearly five percent in September, the biggest decline in about six months.
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