Led by strong returns for shares of Salesforce Inc. and Merck, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up Thursday afternoon. Shares of Salesforce Inc. CRM, +3.34% and Merck MRK, +3.19% have contributed to the index’s intraday rally, as the Dow DJIA, +0.64% was most recently trading 34 points, or 0.1%, higher.
Salesforce Inc.’s shares are up $5.22, or 3.1%, while those of Merck have climbed $2.73 (3.1%), combining for an approximately 52-point bump for the Dow. Procter & Gamble PG, +2.74%, Walmart WMT, +2.43%, and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +2.56% are also contributing significantly to the gain. A $1 move in any one of the 30 components of the benchmark equates to a 6.59-point swing.