Dow Jones rises over 200 points, hits new record close

US stock indices ended mixed on Tuesday, Oct. 21, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average logged a new record close, supported by a strong start to the corporate earnings season and expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.47%, or 218 points, to 46,924 points.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index remained stable at 6,735 points, while the Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.16%, or 36 points, to 22,953 points.

The industrial index received support from a 4% rise in Coca-Cola’s shares, reaching $71.22, following the beverage maker’s third-quarter financial results that exceeded expectations. Additionally, shares of technology products manufacturer 3M surged by 7.66% to $166.64.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 added 0.2% to 573 points, supported by a 2.75% increase in defense and aerospace stocks.

The German DAX 40 advanced 0.30% to 24,330 points, the British FTSE 100 rose 0.25% to 9,426 points, while the French CAC 40 gained 0.65% to 8,258 points after hitting a new record high of 8,271 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.25% to 49,316 points, marking a new record high, while TOPIX remained unchanged at 3,249 points.

In the oil market, futures contracts for Brent crude for December delivery climbed 0.51%, or $0.31, to $61.32 per barrel.

Meanwhile, prices of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for November delivery edged up 0.52%, or 30 cents, settling at $57.82 per barrel.

As for gold, futures prices for the yellow metal for December delivery plunged 5.74%, or $250.3 to $4,109.1 per ounce, marking the deepest daily percentage decline since June 20, 2013.