Boeing carries Dow to record as stocks get earnings boost

NYSE trader looking up FBN AP

Healthy corporate earnings sparked a Wall Street rally on Wednesday, as a strong quarter from Boeing (NYSE:BA) carried the Dow to a record high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 97 points, or 0.5%, to 21,711. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also capped the day with all-time highs. The S&P 500 inched 0.7 points higher to 2,477. The Nasdaq climbed 10.6 points, or 0.16%, to 6,422.

Boeing accounted for nearly all of the Dow’s gains. The aerospace giant rallied 9.9% on the day and logged its own all-time high after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Boeing is now the most expensive stock among the Dow’s 30 components, surpassing Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS).

Strong earnings also gave a boost to Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), which gained 4.6% on second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street expectations. AT&T’s (NYSE:T) earnings beat sent shares 5% higher. Ford (NYSE:F) slipped 1.9%, even though the automaker hiked its full-year guidance.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) reported earnings after the closing bell.

Stocks maintained their momentum after the Federal Reserve concluded its two-day policy meeting. Officials kept interest rates unchanged but said the expected wind-down of the Fed’s portfolio could begin “relatively soon.” The central bank raised the benchmark federal funds rate at its last meeting in June.

Also in economic news, sales of new U.S. homes edged higher in June, according to the Commerce Department. New-home sales increased 0.8% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 610,000. Through the first half of 2017, new-home sales are up 10.9%.

Oil climbed for a third day in a row. U.S. futures rose 1.8% to $48.75 a barrel, while Brent crude was trading 1.4% higher at $50.90.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.291% from 2.328%.