DOW hits record closing high as sentiments remain firm for US stocks

Dow reached a record closing high on Wednesday amid overall supportive moves in the US markets. The major averages climbed more firmly towards the end of the day. The Dow jumped 337.28 points (0.8%) to 43,077.70, the Nasdaq rose 51.49 points (0.3%) to 18,367.08 and the S&P 500 climbed 27.21 points (0.5%) to 5,842.47.

Cisco dominated the sentiments with the networking giant surging by 4.3%. Buying interest emerged due to traders' optimistic view about the strength of the US economy ahead of the release of several key reports on Thursday. The focus is on weekly jobless claims, retail sales and industrial production since traders look for additional clues on outlook for economy & interest rates.

Meanwhile, according to Labor Department, there's a continued decrease by prices for US imports in September. The import prices fell by 0.4% in September after slipping by a revised 0.2% in August. Import prices edged down by 0.1% marking the first YoY decrease since February, compared to the same period last year. The export prices slid by 0.7% in September after slumping by a revised 0.9% in August. September's export prices were down by 2.1% compared to same period last year, reflecting the largest YoY decrease since January.

Arca Airine Index climbed 4.8% to its best closing level in 5 months since the airline stocks saw substantial strength on the day. United Airlines contributed in leading the sector higher by soaring 12.4% after reporting better than expected 3rd quarter results announcing a $1.5 billion share buyback. Banking stocks also saw visible significant strength with the KBW Bank Index climbing by 1.7% to a 2 year closing high. There was considerable strength in utilities, housing and oil service stocks, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The stock markets across Asia Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.8% while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.4%.

The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day while UK's FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1%, German DAX Index slipped by 0.3% & the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4%.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 2.2 bps to 4.01%.

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