Dow Hits 2nd Straight Record-High Close

A screen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange shows the final score after the closing bell rings Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006. The Dow Jones industrial average finally reached new heights Tuesday, extending Wall Street's seven-year recovery with a record closing level after climbing into uncharted territory in trading earlier in the day. (AP Photo/David Karp) (David Karp - AP)

NEW YORK -- Wall Street barreled higher Wednesday, propelling the Dow Jones industrials to their second straight record high close as investors shrugged off lackluster economic news and grew more optimistic that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates as the economy cools.

The Dow, the stock market's best known indicator, soared 123.19, a gain of 1.05 percent, to 11,850.53, according to preliminary calculations. It was only Tuesday that the 30 blue chip stocks finally reached a new closing high for the first time in nearly seven years.

The impetus for Wednesday's big push higher was a growing feeling on Wall Street that the Fed might begin lowering rates soon. Investors appeared to take comfort from comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke that the slowing housing market could be a drag on the economy, perhaps shaving 1 percent off of gross domestic product growth in the second half this year and into next year.

Brian Williamson, an equity trader at The Boston Company Asset Management, said Wall Street could also be taking its cues from economic reports.

"Maybe the market is thinking that the economic data will put the Fed on hold," he said.

The Dow's record-setting day on Tuesday wiped out records that had stood since Jan. 14, 2004. The broader market indicators are still lagging as they try to recover from the turmoil that began with the dot-com bust early in the decade.

Those indexes rose sharply Wednesday along with the Dow. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 16.11, or 1.20 percent, at 1,350.22 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 47.30, or 2.11 percent, to 2,290.95.

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