Here's a Wall Street Report Card as the Dow Hits Record Highs

The stock market has made big strides higher so far this year.
By Keris Alison Lahiff ,

The stock market has made big strides higher so far this year, sitting comfortably within range of records with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching a new one seemingly each day. 

Here are a few things to know about this stock market:

  • The Dow has risen more than 11% so far this year and broken three 1,000-point milestones since January. The blue-chip index hit 22,000 on Aug. 2, five months after securing the 21,000 level. The Dow first hit 20,000 on Jan. 25, a level seen as psychologically important. 
  • The Dow hit a record close of 22,016 on Wednesday, Aug. 2, its sixth closing all-time high in a row. That marks the 32nd time the Dow has ended at a records so far in 2017, a streak not seen since the 38 record closes secured in 2014. 
  • August looks like another month in the green for the Dow, its fifth monthly gain in a row and its ninth in the past 12 months. 
  • The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been a wash over the past week, but remain within reach of all-time highs. The S&P 500 last hit its record of 2,477 on July 26. The Nasdaq hit its all-time high of 6,422 on the same day. 
  • Twenty-five S&P 500 companies hit closing records on Wednesday, including Apple Inc. (AAPL) - Get Report , Cigna Corp. (CI) - Get Report , Visa Inc. (V) - Get Report , Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) - Get Report  and Honeywell International Inc. (HON) - Get Report .
  • The tech sector has provided some of the largest gains to the stock market this year. From the beginning of the year through Wednesday, Facebook Inc. (FB) - Get Report had risen 47%, Apple 34.6%, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) - Get Report 33%, Netflix Inc. (NFLX) - Get Report 46%, and Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) - Get Report 20%. 
  • The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) - Get Report has climbed 19% since the beginning of the year, far outpacing the S&P 500's 10.5% rise, though on pace with the Nasdaq's 18% increase. 

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