Europe Data Fuels U.S. Futures

The higher it has climbed, the more skeptics it has attracted.

But the Dow Jones Industrial Average has marched steadily upward anyway, defying doubters and brushing up against a nearly four-year high.

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On Wednesday, the blue-chip index tacked on 83.55 points, or 0.66%, to 12716.46, one day after closing out a January that was its best opening month to a year since 1997.

Earlier in the session, the Dow surged 152 points, bringing it within 26 points of a level it last reached in May 2008. But those early gains evaporated in late trading, extending the Dow's string of days without a triple-digit move in either direction. The blue-chip index hasn't seen such a move since Jan. 3, a 20-day period of calm that has surprised many on Wall Street who had expected more whippy volatility in 2012.

Wednesday's gain—indeed, the performance so far this year—underscores that the rally has yet to find widespread support among investors. Many on Wall Street concede that the global economic outlook looks less dangerous today than it did late last year, a belief that was bolstered Wednesday by solid manufacturing reports around the globe.