Dow breaks 20,000 — What you need to know in markets on Thursday

Myles Udland
·Head of News
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average finally traded—and then closed—above 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

The 30-member blue-chip index gained 155.8 points on Wednesday to close at 20,068.51, ending more than a month of anticipation in financial markets for the so-called “People’s Index” to break the psychologically (and sociologically) important milestone.

Now we can all move on. And move on we will.

Thursday’s economic and earnings calendar is one of the busiest you’ll find, with no fewer than eight economic reports and dozens of major earnings reports set to cross the tape.

Here’s the rundown on the data side:

  • 8:30 a.m. EST: Advanced goods trade balance (-$65.3 billion expected); wholesale inventories (+0.1% expected); Chicago Fed activity index (-0.05 expected); initial jobless claims (247,000 expected)

  • 9:45 a.m. EST: Markit flash services PMI (54.4 expected)

  • 10:00 a.m. EST: New home sales (-0.7% expected); leading index of economic indicators (+0.5% expected); Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity index (8 expected)

And here are some of the notable earnings announcements:

Stocks usually go up

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq, in addition to the Dow, also hit new records on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 gained 18 points to close at 2,298, while the Nasdaq was up 55 points to 5,656. Each of these averages gained at least 0.8% on the day.

Which is, over time, what usually happens to stocks. But that doesn’t mean stocks go up in a straight line, and it doesn’t mean that times won’t get ugly. Over the long haul, though, investors will be rewarded.

“Over the long term, the stock market news will be good,” wrote Warren Buffett back in the throes of the financial crisis in 2008.

“In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497,” Buffett pointed out.

The 21st century adds to this a financial crisis that saw international markets seize up, the US government nearly defaulting on its debt, an increasingly unequal and divided electorate and the most shocking election result in generations.

The Dow, in turn, rose from about 8,000 in March 2009 to over 20,000 today. As it does.

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Myles Udland is a writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @MylesUdland

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