Stocks near record highs, dollar up on optimism, earnings

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average held well above the 20,000 level after breaching the milestone on Wednesday, buoyed by optimism over U.S. President Donald Trump's pro-growth initiatives and solid earnings. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit record levels immediately after the open, before easing off their highs to trade little changed on the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.78 points, or 0.23 percent, to 20,115.29, the S&P 500 gained 0.09 points, or 0.