Dow Surges 237 Points to Record High

Stocks pushed to more gains and record highs on Wall Street, just as the market came off its biggest week since November. Investors are keeping their focus on better-than-expected company earnings and the prospects for more economic stimulus to combat the impact of the coronavirus, the AP reports. Small-company stocks continued to outpace the rest of the market, a sign that investors are feeling optimistic about the economy. The S&P 500 rose 28.76 points, or 0.7%, to 3,915.59. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 237.52 points, or 0.8%, to 31,385.76. The Nasdaq rose 131.35 points, or 0.9%, to 13,987.64, and the The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 56.43 points, or 2.5%, to 2,289.76.

Tesla climbed after saying it bought $1.5 billion in Bitcoin and pIans to allow customers to pay for electric vehicles with the digital currency. "Investors are starting to play the economy opening up and the vaccine starting work," Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago, tells Reuters. "And maybe they can go to a baseball game this summer." He warns, however, that stocks may have already climbed too far. "Stocks have been over-valued for much of the past year," Nolte says. "And the things we're seeing now, with GameStop and Bitcoin, those are signs of speculation, not investing."

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