The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 20,000 mark for the first time Wednesday, the latest milestone in a record-setting drive for the stock market.
The other major U.S. stock indexes were also moving higher in morning trading, led by banks and other financial companies. Strong earnings from Boeing and other big companies drove the rally, extending gains from the day before.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow gained 162 points, or 0.8 percent, to 20,075 as of 11:04 a.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 16 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,296. The Nasdaq composite index added 47 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,648. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq each closed at record highs on Tuesday.
DOW MILESTONE: The market has been marching steadily higher since bottoming out in March 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The rally continued after the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president last fall. The Dow first closed above 10,000 on March 29, 1999.
Most professional investors are skeptical the Dow at 20,000 will have much effect. They more often look to the S&P 500 index as a benchmark, because they consider it better representation of the broad market.
THE QUOTE: "In and of itself, it is just a number," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "But what it does is it lifts market expectations, in essence, to continue moving higher."
FLYING HIGH: Boeing rose 4.1 percent after the aircraft manufacturer beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit despite a slump in revenue from its defense business. The stock was the biggest gainer in the Dow, rising $6.63 to $167.18.
REMEMBER THIS: Seagate jumped 20.8 percent after the data storage company posted fiscal second-quarter revenue that exceeded financial analysts' forecasts. The stock was up the most among companies in the S&P 500, adding $7.78 to $45.22.
STRONG RESULTS: Rockwell Automation climbed 7.5 percent after the company reported strong quarterly earnings. The stock picked up $10.60 to $152.63.
SOLID QUARTER: Logitech vaulted 15.1 percent after the computer gaming and accessories maker's latest earnings beat Wall Street's expectations. Its shares added $3.80 to $28.90.
ROUGH ROAD: Textron slumped 9.9 percent after the defense contractor's fourth-quarter revenue missed financial analysts' estimates. The company also announced it is buying snowmobile maker Arctic Cat in a deal valued at about $247 million. Textron was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, sliding $4.89 to $44.50.
FALLING SHORT: Mining company Freeport-McMoRan fell 4.3 percent after it served up quarterly results that missed analysts' forecasts. The stock slid 74 cents to $16.28.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, Germany's DAX was up 1.8 percent, while the CAC-40 in France was 1.2 percent higher. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.4 percent. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 1.4 percent after Japan's government said that the nation had a trade surplus in 2016, its first in six years. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.4 percent. South Korea's Kospi rose 0.1 percent.
ENERGY: Oil prices were little changed. Benchmark U.S. crude was essentially unchanged from the day before at $53.20 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $55.33 a barrel in London.
TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.50 percent from 2.47 percent late Tuesday.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 113.62 yen from 113.89 on Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.0736 from $1.0723.
