The Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit the 22,000 mark for the first time in its 121-year history. The market indicator reached its highest level Wednesday morning just after trading opened.
The market indicator is used to gauge the health of the stock market, and is composed of an average of 30 of the strongest and most influential stocks.
The Dow has been on an enormous growth trend since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Analysts say that the pro-growth policies of the populist Republican are taken to be beneficial to business, which has responded with greater economic output in expectation of higher earnings.
Trump has highlighted the stock market's gains and complained that the media focuses on his scandals and ignores the great economic advance. The president also pointed to a higher-than-expected report of 2.6 percent growth in the nation's Gross Domestic Product, for the second quarter as a sign of economic strength gained as a result of his policies and rhetoric.
"Stock Market could hit all-time high (again) 22,000 today," he tweeted Tuesday. "Was 18,000 only 6 months ago on Election Day. Mainstream media seldom mentions!"
The Dow reached 14,000 in October 2006 during the housing boom that turned out to be a market bubble that erased trillions worth of value when it burst. The value of the Dow collapsed to 6,600 by March 2009. Since then, it has been on a slow climb of recovery during former President Barack Obama's tenure, regained its value, and grown beyond the previous high.
Obama took credit for the recovery while critics said that his policies slowed what could have been a much faster economic growth. The Dow had reached a high just below 18,000 in November 2016 when Trump won the presidential election.
The term "Dow Jones" trended nationally as a topic on the social media platform Twitter as people discussed the historic event.
Some have argued that the Dow Jones as a market indicator is outdated, and prefer other measures of stock market trading such as the NASDAQ or the S&P 500. Both of these indicators are showing historic highs as well.
