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By Nicholas
Jasinski | Wednesday, October 20 On
the Cusp. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average traded in record territory today, but
just couldn't hold on until the close. The index finished the day up
0.4%, at 35,609, just 16 points below its all-time high set on August
16. At its highs of the day, the Dow hit roughly 35,670—an intraday record. The S&P
500 likewise rose 0.4% today, for its
sixth-straight gain. It's now just 0.02% below its own record high. Just
like that, investors seem to have shaken off their multitude of
worries from over the past month. Once again in this bull market, buying
the dip has been a winning strategy. There's also
a maxim on Wall Street about stocks climbing a wall of worries that seems
apt: Supply chain woes and inflation in commodity prices, China's Evergrande real estate shock, imminent Federal
Reserve tapering, the Delta variant of Covid-19,
politicians in Washington who can't agree on anything...investors have had
plenty to worry about lately, and stocks are nonetheless at the cusp of
records again. The Dow had barely lost 5% from its August high at the worst
of the recent volatility. Strong
earnings from cyclically oriented companies were among the catalysts for
today's gains. But sector performance suggests investors playing a bit of
defense too: S&P 500 utilities stocks were the biggest winners of the
day, up 1.6%, followed by real estate and health care, each up about 1.5%. Growth
stocks had a worse day: The S&P 500 technology sector lost 0.3%, and
consumer discretionary shares slipped 0.1%. Those declines weighed on the Nasdaq
Composite, which gave up an earlier
gain to tick down less than 0.1% on the day. It has 1.6% to rise to set a
record. Bitcoin, meanwhile,
traded at nearly $67,000 today—its own record level after an 11% rally in the
past three days. After yesterday's launch of the first exchange-traded
fund linked to Bitcoin, investors could purchase options tied to that
ETF as of today. Tomorrow
will be another busy day of earnings, and a chance for major indexes to notch
all-time highs. AT&T, Freeport-McMoRan, Intel, Southwest
Airlines, Nucor, American
Airlines Group, Snap, and Chipotle
Mexican Grill will be among the day's many highlights. |
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DJIA:
+0.43% to 35,609.34 The Hot
Stock: Anthem +7.7% Best Sector:
Utilities +1.6% |
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