Boeing's Stock Surge Helps Dow Industrials Log a Record And Avoid a Tech-fueled Drop

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record on Thursday, avoiding a technology-fueled downdraft that pummeled the broader market, as Boeing's shares rose for a fifth straight day. Boeing's stock added 51 points to the price-weighted, blue-chip gauge. The Dow closed up 85 points, near its highs of the session, up 0.4% at 21,796. The all-time peak for the Dow came even as technology shares pitched sharply lower--but finished off their worst levels of the session--yanking the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 index, which is heavily influenced by the tech group. firmly lower. The Nasdaq closed off 40 points, or 0.6%, but was down by as much as 1.6%, before paring losses to end at 6,382. The S&P 500 index wrapped up off 0.1% at 2,475. All three main benchmarks touched all-time intraday records at the open. The downturn for the tech sector was attributed to investors selling some of their holdings following a brisk rally in the highflying tech sector , including Facebook Inc. , which reported better-than-expected results late Wednesday. For the Dow, Boeing has been a saving grace, powering its advance over past few sessions and over the past six months. Boeing's stock overtook Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on Wednesday as the priciest component in the Dow at $241 a share, compared with $221 for Goldman. That means Boeing shares will hold the most sway over the direction of the Dow. A dollar move in any of the Dow components translates to a 6.85 point swing in the gauge. Boeing's stock has returned 54% so far this year, representing the best year-to-date performance among the other 29 blue-chip components, with Apple Inc. the second-best performer at 29%, as of Thursday's close.