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Dow crosses 40,000 level for first time

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World stocks at record high after month-long surge

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Chinese markets lifted by property sector speculation

(Updates to 11:30 a.m. ET)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones industrial

average crossed the 40,000 level on Thursday for the first time

and a world stock index scored a third straight record intraday

high as stocks continued to rise on U.S. interest rate cut hopes

and strong earnings.

Data on Wednesday showed cooling consumer price

inflation, although that was offset on Thursday by news that

U.S. jobless claims fell in the latest week and by figures

showing U.S. import prices increased 0.9% last month.

That data boosted U.S. Treasury yields and the dollar

but failed to knock the stock market.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also hit record highs in early

New York trading.

Shares of Walmart ( WMT ) jumped 6.2% after the retail

giant raised its fiscal 2025 sales and profit forecast.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 108.75

points, or 0.27%, to 40,016.75, the S&P 500 gained 10.91

points, or 0.21%, to 5,319.06 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 32.16 points, or 0.19%, to 16,774.55.

"What (the Dow hitting 40,000) means is that regardless

of the concerns about inflation and consumer sentiment, the

companies in the Dow, which represent a cross section of our

economy, continue to March higher on better earnings and

stronger guidance," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist

at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose

2.37 points, or 0.30%, to 796.14. The STOXX 600 index

fell 0.24%.

Overnight in Asia, Chinese and Hong Kong property shares

had rallied as well after reports that Beijing was considering a

plan for local governments to buy up millions of unsold homes

across the country.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

gained 0.23% to 104.44, with the euro down 0.11% at

$1.087.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened

0.22% to 155.21.

Data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing

new claims for unemployment benefits fell 10,000 to a seasonally

adjusted 222,000 in the latest week, indicating a still-strong

labor market.

Benchmark 10-year yields were last up 1

basis point at 4.369%, after earlier falling to 4.313%, the

lowest since April 5. They are now trading back above the

200-day moving average of 4.331%, after briefly trading below

it.

U.S. crude gained 0.7% to $79.18 a barrel and

Brent rose to $83.17 per barrel, up 0.51% on the day.

Spot gold lost 0.52% to $2,373.74 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Marc Jones in London; Editing by Chizu

Nomiyama and Susan Fenton)