U.S. stocks soared higher sparked by earnings news on Wednesday, Oct. 14, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to close above 10,000 for the first time in more than year. The sharp rally signaled investors'
confidence that the economy is recovering from the financial crisis and recession.
The Dow finished up 144.90 points, or 1.5%, to close at 10,015.86, its highest level since
global markets plunge on Oct. 6, 2008, when the Dow fell below 10,000 amid the outbreak of financial crisis on Wall Street. The Dow first closed above 10,000 in May 1999 but retreated in the years after the dot-com bubble deflated. It then regained the 10,000 mark in late 2003 before peaking at 14,000 in October 2007.
Other indexes hit fresh one-year highs as well. The broader S&P 500 stock index gained 1.8% to end at 1,092.02, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5% to 2,172.23.
The Dow is still more than 4,000 points off its all-time highs; while S&P 500, a broader measure of the market, are down 30 percent from their peaks.
The sharp rally was fueled by surprisingly better than expected results from two blue chips, Intel and J.P. Morgan Chase and a smaller decline than anticipated in U.S. retail sales.
Along with the stock market, oil futures in New York settled at their highest levels since last October, $75.18 a barrel. Investors rushed to take positions on companies and commodities that could benefit from a broad upturn in corporate profits and the global economy.
Investors risk appetite increase as the Chicago Board Options Exchange's
Volatility Index (VIX) fell 0.6% to 22.86. The index measures investors' nervousness about upcoming stock-market swings.