The Associated Press

U.S. stocks finished higher on Wednesday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to its second record high close this month. Strong earnings results and deal news from big U.S. companies helped lift the market. The three major stock indexes have closed higher three out of the past four days.

On Wednesday:

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 77.52 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 17,138.20.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 8.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,981.57.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 9.58 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,425.97.

For the week:

The Dow is up 194.39 points, or 1.2 percent.

The S&P 500 is up 14 points, or 0.7 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 10.48 points, or 0.2 percent.

For the year:

The Dow is up 561.54 points, or 3.4 percent.

The S&P 500 index is up 133.21 points, or 7.2 percent.

The Nasdaq is up 249.38 points, or about 6 percent.

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