Dow Hits a Five-Year High -- Wednesday's IP 蜜桃传媒 Recap

The Dow hit a new five-year high Wednesday as investors focused on a successful bond auction in Italy, and another round of solid housing news and decent earnings across the board, all the while speculating on what Apple (NASDAQ:) might say () at its annual shareholder meeting in the afternoon.

The good feelings lasted throughout the day as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.26% to 14075.37, the S&P 500 ran ahead 1.27% to 1515.19 and the Nasdaq — despite a 1% decline in Apple — rose 1.04% to 3162.26.

The housing sector continued a recent strong run after the National Association of Realtors announced a surprising rise of 4.5% in pending home sales. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE:) rose more than 2%, while homebuilders Hovnanian (NYSE:, +4.7%), KB Home (NYSE:, +3.4%) and Lennar (NYSE:, +2.5%) also saw shares rise on the day.

Shares of Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:) soared over 10% after the discount retailer said it earned $1.01 per share on sales of $2.25 billion in the fourth quarter. The good news washed all over the sector, as Dollar General (NYSE:, +3.6%) and Family Dollar (NYSE:, 2.5%) saw gains for the day.

Priceline (NASDAQ:) shares rose more than 2% after the online travel site beat profit forecasts. Shares of TripAdvisor (NASDAQ:, +3.5%)

Expedia (NASDAQ:, +2.2%) and Orbitz (NYSE:, +1.8%) rallied in sympathy.

Zynga (NASDAQ:) continued a recent run, gaining more than 4% as New Jersey passed legislation allowing online gaming, joining Nevada and Delaware. And accessories retailer Coach (NYSE:) rose over 2% on a rumor the company might be up for sale.

Bucking the good feelings on the day was First Solar (NASDAQ:), which sank more than 13% after the renewable energy firm missed sales forecasts.

Earnings notables for Thursday include Best Buy (NYSE:), Kohl’s (NYSE:), and Gap (NYSE:).