Dow, S&P 500 Closed at Record Highs

The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 closed at record highs on Wednesday, after Republicans took control of the Senate, raising investor hopes for more business- and energy-friendly policies. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.69 points, or 0.58%, to 17,484.53. the S&P 500 gained 11.47 points, or 0.57%, to 2,023.57. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.91 points, or 0.06%, to 4,620.72.

U.S. services industry activity slowed for a second straight month in October, the latest indication the economy has lost some momentum.The Institute for Supply Management said its services index fell to 57.1 last month from a reading of 58.6 in September, drifting further from August’s post-recession high of 59.6.

The U.S. Federal Reserve unveiled a final rule on Wednesday designed to prevent large financial firms from becoming so big that their failure could shake the core of the U.S. financial market. The final rule, required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, prohibits banks and certain large financial firms
from acquiring another company if that merger would cause their liabilities to exceed 10 percent of the total consolidated liabilities for all financial firms.

Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) reported third-quarter results that topped expectations after the close Wednesday, but the electric car maker lowered its delivery forecast for 2014 to 33,000 cars (it had expected to deliver 35,000 cars). Tesla reported earnings of 2 cents a share, excluding one-time items, versus earnings
of 12 cents in the same quarter a year ago and expectations of a loss of 1 cent.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX) on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit of $967 million. On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had profit of $1.11. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 97 cents per share.