Dow closes above 40,000 for first time, Wall Street logs 5th straight weekly gain | Key points

The steady climb in the US stock market continued, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing above the 40,000-mark for the first time ever at the end of the trading session on May 17.

Dow, which is the average of 30 top listed entities, settled at 40,003.59 points, higher by 134.21 points or 0.34% as against the preceding day.

Among other main indices, S&P 500 logged a gain of 6.17 points or 0.12% to close at 5,303.27, whereas Nasdaq Composite was down 12.35 points or 0.07% to end at 16,685.97.

Dow’s intraday surge was pushed by Walmart and Caterpillar, whose shares rose by 1%, whereas S&P 500 was driven by Chubb and Valero Energy, which logged gains of 3% and 4%, respectively.

5th straight weekly gain

This was the fifth straight weekly gain for the Wall Street, which has remained in the positive trajectory despite global uncertainties. The rise in the prime indices this week coincides with the release of the US inflation data, which showed consumer prices growing at 3.4% in April as against the year-ago period.

The sharpest weekly gain has been recorded by Nasdaq, growing at 2.1%, followed by S&P 500 at 1.5% and Dow at 1.2%. The growth in indices, for a fifth week in a row, marked their longest winning streak in the last three months.

According to analysts, a stability seen in the quarterly earnings of several listed entities, combined with the economic growth and decelerating inflation, is acting as the perfect catalyst for the current market rally in the US.

Year-to-date, the Wall Street has shown a steady momentum, with Dow rising by 6%. The surge has been sharper for S&P 500 and Nasdaq, with both of them growing by more than 11% in 2024 so far.