The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI breached the 40,000-point level for the first time ever on Thursday, its fastest 10,000-point climb, powered by strong quarterly results and rising bets of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.The blue-chip index surpassed its previous record high of 39,935.04, hit on Wednesday, and has recovered nearly 40% from its October 2022 lows. At 10:40 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 0.2%, at 39,992.67.
S stock markets have climbed since the start of the year, as investors bet on an AI-led rally, robust earnings and hopes that the central bank will ease monetary policy this year.All three major U.S. indexes hit fresh intraday record highs on the day.Of the 30 companies on the Dow, card company American Express AXP.N and retail giant Amazon.com are among the biggest percentage gainers so far this year, up 29% and 22%, respectively.