The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday for a sixth day as investor sentiment was boosted by better-than-expected earnings reports and a new record for bitcoin.
The Dow Jones Industrials headed higher 164.46 points to 35,621.77.
The S&P 500 heightened 17.63 points to 4,537.40,
The NASDAQ Composite acquired 16.82 points to 15,147.49.
With stocks' Tuesday advance, the major averages are approaching their all-time highs. The Dow is 0.49% below its record, while the S&P and NASDAQ Composite sit 0.58% and 1.78% below their high-water marks.
Netflix posted its hotly-anticipated third-quarter earnings report on Tuesday after the market closed, with the streaming giant adding 4.4 million subscribers during the period. Wall Street analysts expected 3.84 million additions. However, the shares, which are up 20% in the last three months, were down 1%.
Deutsche Bank downgraded Netflix after the report, saying its stock valuation was hard to justify with revenue growth set to slow next year. The firm also said strong fourth quarter subscriber additions are already baked into the stock.
United Airlines also posted quarterly results after the bell on Tuesday, with the company beating analyst expectations on the top and bottom line amid an ongoing rebound in travel demand. United shares rose slightly Wednesday.
Verizon gained more than 2% after reporting strong earnings, though it missed revenue expectations slightly, and raised its forecast on 5G demand. Biogen shares edged higher after it beat estimates on earnings and revenue and raised its full year guidance.
Ford shares were up nearly 4% after Credit Suisse upgraded the auto company on its EV shift and predicted a 30% rally in the stock. PayPal lost more than 3% on a report that it could buy the social media company Pinterest. Pinterest shares soared more than 10%.
More than 70 S&P 500 components report earnings this week. IBM, Tesla, CSX and Las Vegas Sands are among the names set to report after the market closes.
Bitcoin rose as high as $66,299 Wednesday, a new all-time high for the cryptocurrency, following comments by one expert calling bitcoin his preferred inflation hedge over gold.
Bitcoin has been climbing for four weeks amid positive regulatory developments and the anticipation of the first bitcoin-linked ETF, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which began trading Tuesday.
The bitcoin rally is a signal of a strong risk-on environment, according to Fundstrat's Tom Lee, who also said the market could still rally more than 6% by the end of the year despite the "jagged year of progress" it's had. He upped his S&P 500 price target 100 points to 4,800, citing declining COVID cases and economic resilience.
Prices for 10-year Treasurys fell, raising yields back to Tuesday's 1.64%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 41 cents to $83.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $13.70 to $1,784.20 U.S. an ounce.