US stocks soared today as investors welcomed strong earnings from financial services companies, upbeat economic data and some reassuring news from the Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 10,000 milestone for a second day today as investors shrugged off a downbeat report on consumer sentiment to push stocks higher.

Wall Street lost some momentum today after Wal-Mart turned in a disappointing earnings report and government data showed a slightly higher number of jobless claims and a larger-than-expected trade deficit.

Wall Street today had little reaction to President George Bush’s proposal to cut taxes, as investors collected some profits from the market’s big three-day advance and left stocks narrowly mixed.