Dow Jones Industrial Average lurches into even higher highs, taps 39,880 on Thursday

• Dow Jones clips into its second all-time high in two days.
• US equities broadly higher in the back half of the trading week.
• DJIA climbs 0.8% on Thursday as traders extend Fed bid.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) tore into its second all-time high this week, climbing eight-tenths of a percent and tapping a fresh record peak of 39,889.05 as US equities broadly gain ground. Investor confidence is peaking after the Federal Reserve (Fed) held steady on interest rates at the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) rate call on Wednesday. Still, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell nodded at the likelihood of rate cuts to come, sending broad-market risk appetite into the ceiling.

Of the 11 sectors that make up the US equities markets, all but one are in the green on Thursday, led by the Industrials and Financials Sectors, which are up around a percent. On the low side, Communications Services shed further weight, backsliding a third of a percent as investors pare back bets on telecoms.

Dow Jones news

The Dow Jones climbed around 300 points on Thursday as the index bears down on the 40,000.00 major price handle as the equity index trades above 39,800.00. Of the 30 securities listed on the DJIA, only six are in the red on the day, led by Apple Inc. (AAPL), which shed over 4% to trade into $171.00 per share after the US Department of Justice announced it was suing the company on the accusation that Apple’s iPhone ecosystem constitutes a monopoly. The Department of Justice accused Apple of anti-competitive practices in multiple areas of the megacompany’s mobile phone business. The AAPL ticker is down nearly 8% from recent all-time highs at $198.11 set last December.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) is leading the charge up the Dow Jones market board on Thursday, climbing 4.25% on the day to trade above $413.00 per share. GS is followed by Home Depot Inc. (HD), which climbed over 2.5% to test $394.40. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) is up a little over 2% ahead of the day’s market close, testing $364.00 per share.

Dow Jones Industrial Average technical outlook

The Dow Jones kicked off Thursday’s US trading session with a topside gap as investors scrambled to bid up US equities, rallying into a fresh all-time record peak at 39,889.05 before settling into sideways trading between 39,840.00 and 39,820.00. The day’s low was set early in the trading session at 39,589.23.

Sellers looking to close Thursday’s opening bullish gap will need to drag the index below 39,520.00, which would open the Dow Jones up for a further decline into the last swing low into the 38,600.00 region.

Dow Jones Industrial Average 5-minute chart