After breaking a streak of 12 straight record-setting sessions, the Dow resumed its upward climb and closed above the 21,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday.
The venerable index posted its largest daily percentage gain of the year at 1.46%, after ending February with its fourth straight month of gains—an advance of nearly 15% and its best four-month run since 2012.
Below is a list of facts about the index on its climb to 21,000:
- The Dow first closed above 20,000 on Jan. 25, 2017, when it ended the trading day at 20,068.51. The 24 market sessions between 1,000 point milestone for the index match the shortest such span in its history, from March 29 to May 3, 1999, when it rose from 10,000 to 11,000, also taking 24 trading days.
- The longest stretch between such milestones has been the 3,630 days needed for the index to close above the 2,000 barrier, reached on Jan. 8, 1987.
- Apple (AAPL) has been the best performer on the index since the 20,000 mark, with a gain of 14.7 percent. It is also the top boosts to the price-weighted Dow, contributing 122.65 points.
- Two other stocks contributed more than 100 Dow points each since the 20,000 milestone: Goldman Sachs (GS) and Boeing (BA).
- Goldman was the biggest contributor in the Dow’s march from 19,000 to 20,000, adding about 167 points.
- Intel (INTC) was the worst performing stock during the most recent 1,000 point run, down almost 5%. The stock is the third-biggest drag on the index, subtracting 12.8 points.
- The top two drags on the index during the move to 21,000 are both oil companies—Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM)—which subtracted nearly 23 and 16 points respectively from the Dow.