New York – Wall Street shot higher Wednesday after investors shrugged off a mixed reading on the housing sector and focused on the positives: a jump in industrial output, a retreat in crude-oil prices and new cash pouring into the stock market. The Dow Jones industrials rose 103 points to another closing record.
An early rally was punctured after the Commerce Department reported that April applications for building permits fell by the biggest amount in 17 years. But stocks gradually regained strength, finding support from a Federal Reserve report that showed industrial output rose more than expected in April and a rebound in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories that caused crude-oil prices to pull back.
News that billionaires Warren Buffett, Edward Lampert and Carl Icahn were upping equity investments also gave investors confidence that stocks have further to climb, although the Dow has risen more than 1,300 points in the past two months.
Investors seem to be taking weak housing data in stride; a lackluster read on home sales Tuesday upended a big rally in stocks that sent the Dow Jones industrials briefly above 13,400 for the first time, but the market quickly regained its footing Wednesday.
“We seem to be in a period of time where it doesn’t make a difference what the news is – the market seems to find a reason to go up,” said Ron Kiddoo, chief investment officer at Cozad Asset Management. “How long will this last? It’s anybody’s guess.”
The Dow rose 103.69, 0.77 percent, to 13,487.53, its 23rd record close of the year. It also hit a new trading high of 13,489.57.
Broader stock indicators advanced.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 12.95, 0.86 percent, to 1,514.14, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.13, 0.88 percent, to 2,547.42.
Light, sweet crude fell 62 cents to $62.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices have been rising amid concerns about supply disruptions, particularly in Nigeria, but Wednesday’s U.S. inventory data showed domestic gasoline and crude inventories rose more than expected last week.
Investors also embraced the Fed’s report that industrial output rose by 0.7 percent in April. The gain was more than double the 0.3 percent gain that had been expected and in part reflected a rebound in manufacturing. In March, output fell 0.3 percent.
