Dow's Late-afternoon Surge Into Record Territory Powered By Goldman, UnitedHealth

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped on Thursday to record territory, fueled by a rebound in shares of Goldman Sachs, Wednesday's worst performer, and a rally in UnitedHealth. The Dow components combined to contribute more than 50 points to the blue-chip's 110-point rally. For Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the rise marks a comeback for shares that logged Wednesday's worst performance, among the Dow components, cutting 50 points from the benchmark, and pushing the investment bank's stock to a six-month low, amid worries about ultralow bond yields [BX: TMUBMUSD10Y] and fretting about a slump in second-quarter trading activity, following warnings from a pair of bank executives. On Thursday, Goldman was adding 27 points, while UnitedHealth Group Inc. was contributing about the same amount to the Dow's clamber higher. Overall, the stock market was getting a boost from an upbeat private-sector employment rate, ADP, which may augur well for the Labor Department's closely watched nonfarm-payrolls report due Friday. The Dow's advance also comes as the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite Index touched fresh intraday records. For its part, the Dow was on pace to close above its own closing high, up 0.5% at 21,120, which would mark its first record finish since March 1.

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