The stock market continued to build momentum on Wednesday, sending several stock market benchmarks to levels that would represent all-time closing highs. Many market participants' eyes were on Washington, where the pandemic-subdued Inauguration Day event is scheduled for midday. As of just before 11 a.m. EST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was up 217 points to 31,148, just shy of its highest closing mark. Reaching their highest levels ever, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) rose 43 points to 3,841, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) powered higher by 224 points to 13,421.
The stock market has gotten a lot of support from smaller companies lately, but on Wednesday, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) took the spotlight with its reading on how the streaming-video giant fared to end 2020. Meanwhile, investors in Chinese internet-leader Alibaba Group Holding (NYSE: BABA) were reassured by something that would typically have seemed completely ordinary in other contexts.
Shares of Netflix soared more than 14% on Wednesday morning. The company released its fourth-quarter earnings report late Tuesday afternoon, and investors focused on the numbers they liked the most.
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Netflix Surge Sends Stock Markets to Records; Alibaba Climbs on Ma's Return