After The Bell: Dow Closes Above 23,000 For First Time Ever

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Stocks surged higher Wednesday, with the Dow closing above the 23,000 mark for the first time ever, as banner quarterly earnings from IBM added to the recent optimism on Wall Street. The S&P 500 gained 2, the NASDAQ added 1 and the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 160 points, settling to 23,157.

"Big day for the markets and an important big day because we are seeing this as we are just entering into the thick of earnings season. IBM clearly a catalyst today, but really representative of what investors take-away is, from the stocks that are reporting, managements out there talking about their businesses, strong earnings reports and the market is taking comfort in that." says Susan Schmidt, Senior Portfolio Manager at Westwood in Dallas.

She also noted there is a lot of value in regional banks, construction and energy companies.