Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

STOCKS SURGE TO RECORD HIGH: Here's What You Need To Know

new york stock exchange traders
Traders laugh as they work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as the market closes in New York October 17, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

The stock market set a record high on Friday.

Advertisement

First, the scoreboard:

  • Dow: 17,390.5, +194.7, (+1.1%)
  • S&P 500: 2.018.0, +23.4, (+1.1%)
  • Nasdaq: 4,630.7, +64.6, (+1.4%0)

And now, the top stories on Wednesday:

1. The rally really began in Japan when two pieces of news crossed. First, Nikkei reported that Japan's $1.2 trillion behemoth Government Pension Investment Fund would ramp up its exposure to foreign and domestic stocks. Second, the Bank of Japan unexpectedly announced a big boost to its quantitative-easing stimulus program. The Nikkei went bonkers, surging 4.8% to close at a seven-year high.

Advertisement

2. The US had some good economic news. The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index unexpectedly jumped to 86.0 in October from 84.6 a month ago. The Chicago PMI unexpectedly spiked to a 12-month high of 66.2 in October from 60.5 in September. "The bounceback in the Barometer marks a solid start to Q4 and suggests that against a backdrop of concerns about weakening growth in Europe and China, the US economy is still growing firmly," ISM-Chicago said in its release.

3. In a sign of labor market tightness, the employment cost index jumped 0.7% in Q3. "This is the fastest pace of quarterly compensation that we have seen since late 2008," BNP Paribas' Bricklin Dwyer noted. "The measure popped up to 2.2% y/y, accelerating from the previous 10-month's 1.8-2.0% range."

4. The stock market has been on an absolute wild ride in the last two months. It went from its all-time intraday high of 2,019 on Sept. 19 (all-time closing high 2,011.36 on Sept. 18) down its Oct. 15 low of 1,820.66. The Dow set an intraday all-time high of 17,395 today.

Don't Miss: WALL STREET'S BRIGHTEST REVEAL THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARTS IN THE WORLD »

Closing Bell
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account