Higher and Higher: U.S. Stocks Continue to Smash Records

U.S. stocks soared to record-breaking highs on Monday, perhaps buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s seemingly never-ending qualitative easing polices and boosted by hopes that Janet Yellen, the presumed successor to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, will continue them.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 47 points, crossing 16,000 for the first time in its history.

Image source: Yahoo! Finance

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose approximately 3 points to hit 1,800.

The S&P 500 index has risen for six weeks straight and is up 26 percent so far this year. The market hasn't risen that much in a whole year since 2003. The S&P 500 has closed above major round-number milestones three times this year: 1,500 on Jan. 25; 1,600 on May 3; and 1,700 on Aug. 1.

Image source: Yahoo! Finance

The Nasdaq slipped slightly but rose a couple of points and is holding steady at 3,987, continuing its slow but steady ascent.

Image source: Yahoo! Finance

Dow and S&P futures rose quickly after the market opened Monday morning. As of this writing, both indexes have slipped slightly, falling below record-breaking levels, but they are rising again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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