Dow’s midday rally powered by a 80-point punch up from Visa, Home Depot stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday was being propelled higher by a rally in shares of Visa Inc., and Home Depot, helping to more than offset declines in the benchmark’s most influential component: Boeing Co. Most recently, the Dow was up 210 points, or 0.9%, at 24,294, with Visa’s stock up 4.8%, or up $6.12, and those for Home Depot rallying 3.5%, or $5.50. The combined advance for the pair contributes about 80 points to the price-weighted gauge’s intraday climb. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.89-point swing. Boeing’s shares , meanwhile, were cutting about 20 points from the average, with the aerospace company’s stock representing the most influential by dint of its $300-plus share price. Shares of Visa were moving after the credit card company reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations late Wednesday, and raised its growth outlook, which has led analysts to lift their share-price targets for the financial company. Boeing’s shares surged Wednesday after it reported earnings that trounced analyst expectations and hiked its outlook for 2018 earnings, with investors likely taking some profit Thursday, market participants said. More broadly, the S&P 500 index was up 0.9% at 2,662, with technology shares leading the way higher, and Nasdaq Composite Index was enjoying a 1.5% rally to 7,106.