Dow Jones ends above 23,000 for first time ever, buoyed by IBM

US stock indices closed the third session of this week at fresh record highs for Dow Jones, Standard and Poor's 500, and NASDAQ, with with Dow Jones piercing 23,000 and hitting unprecedented highs on the back of IBM, which recorded its best daily performance in eight years after the giant computer maker reported growth after six years of decline. 

It took Dow Jones from 22,000 to 23,000 half the time it took it from 21,000 to 22,000, as the third quarter earnings season start in earnest for major American banks and corporations. 

Earlier from the US, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley participated in a panel discussion titled "Dallas and New York as Centers of Growth" at an event jointly hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in New York.

Earlier US data showed housing starts and building permits fell more than expected in September, as markets look forward to the Beige Book later today, which derives its importance from being released two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee, and lays the background for policymakers' decisions and directions in order to stimulate the economy. 

Dow Jones rallied 0.70%, or 160.16 points to 23,157.60, while Standard and Poor's 500 gained 0.07%, or 1.90 points to 2,561.26. NASDAQ Composite inched up barely 0.01%, or 0.56 points to 6,624.22. 

Gold futures due on December 16 declined 0.29% to $1,282.50 an ounce from the opening of $1,286.20, while the dollar index dipped 0.08% to 93.41 from the opening of 93.48. 

Otherwise, US crude futures due on November 15 rose 0.27% to $52.02 a barrel from the opening of $51.88, while Brent crude futures due on December 15 climbed up 0.54% to $58.19 a barrel from the opening of $57.88.