The Dow hits a record as 3M, Coca-Cola and other big US stocks climb
[October 22, 2025] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record on Tuesday
as the floodgates opened for companies reporting how much profit they
made during the summer.
The Dow rose 218 points, or 0.5%, and topped its prior all-time high,
which was set early this month. The S&P 500 index, which is much more
important on Wall Street and dictates the performance of many more
401(k) accounts, was essentially flat and finished 0.3% below its own
record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.
3M helped drive the Dow to its record after reporting bigger profit for
the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock had the biggest
jump in price among the 30 companies that make up the average.
In the more representative S&P 500 index, General Motors helped lead the
way and rallied 14.9% after reporting stronger quarterly results than
analysts expected, while also raising its forecasts for some full-year
financial targets. CEO Mary Barra said it’s moving quickly to reduce its
losses in 2026 and beyond for its electric-vehicle business, as “it is
now clear” that EV adoption will be lower than planned.
RTX, the aerospace and defense company, rose 7.7%, and Coca-Cola climbed
4.1% after they likewise reported profit for the latest quarter that
topped Wall Street’s profit expectations.
Warner Bros. Discovery leaped 11% after the company said it’s now
considering other options besides its previously announced split of
Discovery Global off Warner Bros., ones that could be more profitable
for shareholders. The company said it may be changing course after
hearing from “multiple parties” interested in either the entire company
or Warner Bros.
Keeping the market in check were drops for some Big Tech stocks, which
lost momentum following their own big rallies. A 2.4% drop for Google’s
parent company, Alphabet, from its all-time high was among the heaviest
weights on the S&P 500. So were Broadcom’s 1.9% fall and Nvidia’s 0.8%
decline.
All told, the S&P 500 edged up by 0.22 to 6,735.35 points. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average rose 218.16 to 46,924.74, and the Nasdaq composite
slipped 36.88 to 22,953.67.
Other big recent winners in financial markets also took a pause. The
price of gold fell 5.7% from its latest record, dropping back to
$4,109.10 per ounce. It’s still up nearly 56% for the year so far.
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Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 The pressure is on companies to show
that their profits are growing following a torrid rally of 35% for
the S&P 500 from a low in April. It’s one way they can justify their
high stock prices amid criticism that they’re too expensive.
Corporate earnings reports have also gained importance because they
offer some details on the strength of the U.S. economy when the U.S.
government’s shutdown has delayed important economic updates. The
delays are making the job of the Federal Reserve more difficult, as
it tries to decide whether high inflation or the slowing job market
is the bigger issue for the economy.
Despite the shutdown, the Commerce Department will release its
report on for U.S. consumers Friday, which could help guide the
Fed’s policy on what to do with interest rates. It’s the
government’s first data release since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and
Asia.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3% and crept closer to the 50,000 level
as conservative lawmaker Sanae Takaichi became the country’s prime
minister. Investors expect her to push for lower interest rates and
other policies that could help the market.
Indexes rose 1.4% in Shanghai and 0.7% in Hong Kong amid
expectations that President Donald Trump will meet with Chinese
President Xi Jinping later this month during a regional summit.
That’s raised hopes for an easing of trade tensions between the
world’s biggest economies.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 3.95%
from 4.00% late Monday.
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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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