U.S. equities closed at all-time highs on Wednesday after a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump increased bullish sentiment on Wall Street, while financials outperformed.

The Dow Jones industrial average broke above 20,000 for the first time, rising about 150 points as Boeing, Goldman Sachs and IBM contributed the most gains.



"People are seeing that the administration is carrying through with some of the things they promised," said John Stadtler, head of U.S. Financial Services Industry Practice at PwC. "It looks like long-term capital gains are here to stay."

Dow since US election

Source: FactSet

The S&P 500 advanced 0.8 percent to a new all-time high, with financials rising more than 1.5 percent.



"Clearly, this has become a buy-high-sell-higher market with the Dow breaking above 20,000," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Out of the gate, President Trump is moving along with his agenda."

"More importantly, earnings have been on the cusp of increasing, and that's going to be key to hold these valuations," Sandven said.

The Nasdaq composite gained 0.99 percent, also notching a record high.



"Traders have been waiting for more details on infrastructure spending and now they have it in a very clear format," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets. "There is nothing bigger than this. A break of 20,000 for the Dow stimulates fresh capital which has been waiting for this moment to join this party."