NEW YORK: The Dow Jones Industrial Average bolted to a new record Wednesday as strong Intel earnings and a new IBM venture boosted the blue-chip index.
The Dow jumped 77.52 points (0.45 percent) to 17,138.20.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 8.29 points (0.42 percent) to 1,981.57, while the tech-rich
Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.58 points (0.22 percent) to 4,425.97.
Intel was by far the leader of the 30-member Dow, soaring 9.3 percent after it reported earnings that bested expectations and announced $20 billion in additional share repurchases.
IBM rose 2.1 percent after unveiling a "landmark" partnership with Apple in which the two giants will collaborate on applications for Apple's iOS system, which will employ IBM's supercomputing analytics. Apple fell 0.6 percent.
Microsoft, another tech company in the Dow, gained 3.8 percent as investors await a major reorganization announcement from new chief executive Satya Nadella.
"Technology was really more the driver today," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P Capital IQ.
Stovall said the market has also been buoyed by generally solid earnings, which increase the confidence that second-quarter economic growth will live up to hopes.
