Dow Jones industrial average closes above 26,000 points for 1st time

NEW YORK -- Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its first close above 26,000 points.

The Dow had traded above that level on Tuesday but wound up closing lower that day. The Dow's surge on Wednesday was driven in part by a big gain in Boeing.

With the stock market reaching records so often, 1,000-point moves in the Dow have become increasingly commonplace. It's been just eight trading days since the Dow had its first close above 25,000.

Technology stocks were again some of the biggest winners. Microsoft rose 2 percent.

The Dow rose 332 points, or 1.3 percent, to 26,115.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 26 points, or 0.9 percent, to 2,802.

The Nasdaq composite gained 74 points, or 1 percent, to 7,298.