Dow trades above 25,000 points for first time

The Dow Jones industrial average marked another major milestone early Thursday  morning, trading above 25,000 points for the first time.

The Dow reached the 24,000 plateau for the first time just five weeks ago. Since then, stocks have continued to climb, likely aided by investor confidence in the Republican-backed tax plan. The plan will cut the U.S. corporate tax rate substantially, which supporters hope will lead to big profits for corporations.

More: Dow has first close above 24,000 points

Technology companies and banks gained the most from Thursday’s early breakthrough, with companies like Wells Fargo and Microsoft seeing large gains.

The market has continued to rise broadly following a survey which showed strong hiring by private U.S. businesses. The survey revealed that U.S. businesses added 250,000 jobs in December of 2017.

The Dow broke through five 1,000-point milestones last year, leading to a 25 percent gain for 2017.

However, not all companies have seen positive gains. Technology giant Intel continues to stumble after a security flaw was discovered in its computer processors. Car manufacturer Tesla has also struggled after falling short on production goals for its first ever lower-cost vehicle.