Dow tops 40,000 for first time amid rate cut hopes

New York: The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 40,000 level on Thursday for the first time and a world stock index scored a third straight record intraday high as stocks continued to rise on US interest rate cut hopes and strong earnings.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also hit record highs in early New York trading.

Data on Wednesday showed cooling consumer price inflation, although that was offset on Thursday by news that US jobless claims fell in the latest week and by figures showing U.S. import prices increased 0.9% last month. That data boosted US Treasury yields and the dollar but failed to knock the stock market.

Shares of Walmart jumped 6.2% after the retail giant raised its fiscal 2025 sales and profit forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.75 points, or 0.27%, to 40,016.75, the S&P 500 gained 10.91 points, or 0.21%, to 5,319.06 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 32.16 points, or 0.19%, to 16,774.55.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose 2.37 points, or 0.30%, to 796.14. The STOXX 600 index fell 0.24%.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, gained 0.23% to 104.44, with the euro down 0.11% at $1.087.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.22% to 155.21.

Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 in the latest week, indicating a still-strong labor market.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last up 1 basis point at 4.369%, after earlier falling to 4.313%, the lowest since April 5. They are now trading back above the 200-day moving average of 4.331%, after briefly trading below it.

US crude gained 0.7% to $79.18 a barrel and Brent rose to $83.17 per barrel, up 0.51% on the day.