Caterpillar, 3M earnings boost Dow to new record
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a fresh record in early trade Thursday, boosted by gains in component companies Caterpillar (CAT) and 3M (MMM). Both released expectation topping fourth-quarter earnings pre-bell.
Four Dow component stocks—Caterpillar, 3M, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)—touched record highs on Thursday.
Meanwhile, potentially market-driving data released Thursday morning included weekly initial jobless claims, which rose by 17,000 to 233,000. The monthly average of claims fell by 3,500 to 240,000.
Overseas, the European Central Bank (ECB) left rates unchanged. The euro was still climbing, boosted by earlier, positive comments from ECB President Mario Draghi about the state of the Eurozone economy.
A reading on U.S. home sales, which was disappointing, pressured the shares of major homebuilders including NVR (NYSE:NVR), William Lyon Homes, (NYSE:WLH) and KB Home (NYSE:KBH).
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were also higher.