S&P 500, Nasdaq at all-time highs

Trader Ashley Lara works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street, putting the market on track for a third straight day of solid gains. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Ashley Lara works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street, putting the market on track for a third straight day of solid gains. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Health care and financial stocks led another milestone-setting rally on Wall Street on Wednesday, extending the market’s gains for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 480 points and the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq composite each hit all-time highs.

The latest gains came as another batch of solid corporate earnings reports and encouraging economic data overshadowed concerns about the potential economic fallout from the virus outbreak that originated in China.

The latest jobs survey by payroll processor ADP indicated hiring accelerated last month. A separate report showed economic activity increased in January.

The S&P 500 index rose 37.10 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,334.69. The Dow climbed 483.22 points, or 1.7 percent, to 29,290.85. The average briefly climbed above 500 points.

The Nasdaq gained 40.71 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,508.68. The index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, also notched a record high Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 25.15 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,681.92.

Markets in Europe and Asia closed higher.

Industrial and technology stocks also helped lift the market. Crude oil prices jumped 2.3 percent, giving energy stocks a boost. Exxon Mobil gained 4.6 percent.

Real estate stocks were the only decliners as investors shifted away from safe-play holdings and took on more risk. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.64 percent from 1.6 percent late Tuesday.

The recent virus outbreak has infected more than 24,500 people globally, but has been mostly confined to China. The world’s second largest company remains on lockdown and companies continue to warn of an expected impact to revenue and profit, though the extent of the damage for many remains unclear.

Tesla plunged 17.2 percent on reports that the shutdowns in China will delay production at its Shanghai factory. The company warned investors last week that production delays in China were possible.

Anxiety about the outbreak fueled a mid-January slump for U.S. stocks, but investors appear to have set aside those jitters this month.

Investors got more encouraging news about the U.S. economy Wednesday. Payroll processor ADP said that private U.S. companies added 291,000 jobs in January, a big increase from December. The report came out ahead of the Labor Department’s release of its January jobs tally on Friday. Many analysts expect that report will show a job gain of 150,000 in January, compared to 145,000 jobs in the government’s report in December.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of business activity by service sector companies increased in January, an indicator of continued steady expansion of the economy.