DOW HITS 20,000

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 25 –The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday finally crossed 20,000 for the first time.

The S&P 500 and the tech-focused Nasdaq clinched new highs Tuesday, but the Dow failed to climb above its old record of 19,999.63.

At 9:32 a.m. ET, the Dow is up by 101 points or 0.51%, at 20,014.62. A close above 20,000 is what’s needed to put the psychological milestone in the rearview mirror, tweeted Mohamed El-Erian, the chief economic adviser at Allianz.

The S&P 500 is up 10 points (0.46%) at an intraday high of 2,290.55. The Nasdaq is up 37 points (0.68%) at a record 5,638.85.

This week is the busiest of earnings-reporting season companies, and some better-than-expected earnings results have supported the major indexes. An earnings beat by Boeing ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday pushed its shares and the overall Dow higher.

On Tuesday, producers of metals and raw materials on the benchmark S&P 500 gained after chemical-maker DuPont reported results that topped estimates.

Several market strategists, including Raymond James’ Jeff Saut, have said that the bull market is transitioning this year from being interest rate-driven to being earnings driven. Investors’ focus, they argue, is returning squarely to profit as interest rates bottom and US monetary policy continues to tighten.

The so-called Trump rally that took stocks — and financial stocks in particular —to new highs after the election stalled at the beginning of this year. But in his first week, President Donald Trump pushed the pro-business agenda promised on the campaign trail. He met Tuesday with CEOs from the largest automakers including GM and Fiat Chryslerto urge more domestic manufacturing.

Meanwhile, inflation expectations continue to rise as Trump touts his infrastructure plan. The 10-year yield was up three basis points to 2.504% at 9:25 a.m. ET.

According to a report Tuesday from Kansas City Star and The News Tribune,Trump’s administration has compiled a list of 50 infrastructure projects, totaling $137.5 billion in investment. An announcement directing the construction of a border wall with Mexico is expected on Wednesday.