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U.S. stocks end at record highs on upbeat earnings

Xinhua, January 26, 2017 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks extend gains Wednesday, with the Dow closing above the 20,000 milestone for the first time ever, as investors digested a batch of generally positive corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 155.80 points, or 0.78 percent, to 20,068.51. The S&P 500 added 18.30 points, or 0.80 percent, to 2,298.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 55.38 points, or 0.99 percent, to 5,656.34.

Before Wednesday's opening bell, the Boeing Company announced fourth-quarter revenue of 23.3 billion U.S. dollars, with GAAP earnings per share of 2.59 dollars and core earnings per share (non-GAAP) of 2.47 dollars, reflecting overall solid execution on production programs and services.

Shares of the aircraft maker surged 4.24 percent to 167.36 U.S. dollars apiece Wednesday following the release of the company's strong quarterly results.

United Technologies, another Dow component, also posted quarterly profit and revenue Wednesday that roughly in line with Wall Street expectations. Its shares fell 0.58 percent to 110.96 dollars apiece.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2016 are expected to rise 6.8 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.1 percent.

Some analysts believed that U.S. President Donald Trump's new executive orders also boosted bullish sentiment on the Wall Street.

U.S. stocks posted solid gains after Trump won the presidency election as investors bet that he would pursue massive corporate tax cuts, deregulation, and infrastructure spending.

Dow closed above 19,000 for the first time ever on Nov. 22 and has increased about 9 percent since the Nov. 8 Election Day. Endit