[Editor's note: This story will update should the Dow cross 20K.]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average flirted extremely close to the 20,000 psychological milestone on Friday, spending most of the morning and early afternoon within less than half a percentage point off the threshold at times.
Ever since the presidential election, the Dow, which is an indicator of economic health, continues to edge close and into new territory, with Friday’s rise marking another record high. The Dow monitors the values of shares at the 30 largest companies in America. As those companies perform better economically, so does the nation, at least in theory.
The technology sector drove the increase, as the Dow Jones industrial average rose about 90 points, with Goldman Sachs and Walt Disney contributing the most gains, according to an article in CNBC by Fred Imbert.
The stock market has steadily improved since American nominated President-elect Donald Trump.
Leading up to the election, despite significant turmoil in the stock market leading up it, U.S. stocks posted a dramatic turnaround from deep overnight losses after the election as investors poured money into sectors that may benefit from Trump’s victory.
Then, not even a month later, the Dow posted a record high on Nov. 23, reaching 19,062.93.
At the time, an article by Joe McDonald for USA Today, quoted Alex Furber of CMC Markets saying, “As Trump has rowed back and not mentioned some of his more extreme policy sound bites, some worries about the nature of his presidency may have begun to abate,”
“That has helped U.S. indexes hit record highs, with the Dow surpassing 19,000 for the first time and closing at a record high six times in the two weeks,” McDonald explained.
