The Dow Closes Above 18,000; Europe Up Strongly Too

U.S. stocks rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, with the Dow closing above 18,000 for the first time ever,  thanks to a surprisingly strong report on U.S. economic growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.36% to close at 18,024 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.17 to close at 2,082.

European stocks also climbed for their sixth straight day, apparently helped by the favorite report on U.S. economic growth.

While the Dow milestone grabbed the imagination of investors, the S&P 500′s finish on the day was just as impressive, marking the 51st record daily close for that index this year.

Stocks gained sharply this morning after the Commerce Department reported that the final estimate for third-quarter U.S. economic growth was revised up to a 5% annual pace, its quickest pace  in over a decade and easily topping expectations calling for growth of 4.3 percent.

The good news didn’t extend to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which finished down 0.3%,  to  4,765, thanks to a large selloff in biotechnology stocks.

Energy stocks had a strong day, thanks to a rise in the price of crude oil to about $57 a barrel. The SPDR Select Sector Energy ETF (XLE) was up 1.5% on the day.

Meanwhile, health-care stocks were the big sector loser on the day, down about 2.1%.

In the health-care sector, shares of biotech company  Gilead Sciences (GILD)  fell 3.45% on the day, following a 14% drop Monday.  Gilead has been hit by news tha Express Scripts will make an AbbVie drug the exclusive option for patients with the most common form of hepititas C. AbbVie is a direct rival of Gilead.

According to Bloomberg, stocks in Europe climbed for a sixth day amid better-than-expected U.S. economic-growth data.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.6 percent to 344.06 at the close of trading. It briefly pared gains after a report showed that sales of new U.S. homes unexpectedly declined in November. The European stocks gauge posted its biggest six-day jump in three years, rising 6.4 percent.

Benchmark stock indexes of Portugal, France and Italy posted some of the biggest gains, rallying more than 1 percent. according to Bloomberg. The volume of Stoxx 600 shares changing hands was 38 percent lower than the 30-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg show.