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The Dow Jones industrial average eked out a record close on Thursday, erasing sharp losses, as Wall Street bet on further gains from corporate earnings.
The Dow inched higher 5.44 points from Wednesday’s all-time record to 23,163.04, while Travelers rose 2.4% and was the biggest contributor to the gains on the Dow. Travelers reported earnings per share that easily beat expectations.
The blue chips had fallen 104.93 points at its session lows. Tech giant Apple saw its stock decline 2.5% amid speculation of poor demand and cuts in production of iPhone 8. The stock was also posted its biggest one-day decline since Aug. 10.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.84 points to manage a record close at 2,562.10, as a 12.2% gain in Adobe shares offset steep losses from United Continental. The airline's stock fell 12.1%
The Dow and the S&P 500 rose slightly into the close after one media source reported that President Donald Trump was leaning toward Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell to be the next head of the central bank.
The NASDAQ subtracted 19.15 points – off its lows of the day -- to 6,605.07. Facebook, Google-parent Alphabet, Netflix and Amazon all finished lower.
Wall Street also continued to digest corporate earnings reports.
EBay reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue along with earnings per share that met expectations. However, the company reported mixed guidance for the fourth quarter, sending the stock down 1.8%.
Philip Morris also reported quarterly earnings, but fell short of expectations; its stock dropped 3.8%.
Thursday also marked the 30th anniversary of "Black Monday," the worst day in U.S. stock-market history. On that day, the S&P 500 plunged 20.5% and the Dow dropped 22.6%.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note revived, lowering yields to 2.32% from Wednesday’s 2.34%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 64 cents a barrel to $51.40 U.S.
Gold prices regained $7.30 an ounce to $1,290.30 U.S.
