U.S. Stock Market - Record Highs for the DJIA & DJTA

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted an all-time record high today, easily breezing by the previous record set in October 2007. The DJIA now joins the Dow Jones Transportation Average in record high ground which probably comforts the so-called “Dow Theorists” who see this confirmation as an “all clear” signal for the current bull market to post additional gains immediately ahead.

Here are today’s closing marks, with changes from last Monday’s close:

                                                                                    Tuesday’s Changes                  

Dow Jones Industrial Average                      14,253.77         +125.95           +0.89%           

S&P 500 Index                                                 1,539.79        +  14.59           +0.96%

NASDAQ Composite Index                              3,224.13        +  42.10           +1.32%

Russell 2000 Index                                             927.40         +  10.72           +1.17%                       

As anyone can see from the above-listed gains, all the major U.S. stock market averages were in sync on the upside today. In fact, most stock markets world-wide posted solid gains today. Even European share prices were up big today, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index soaring 1.81%. I mention this because it’s been my experience that this kind of global strength is not likely to be stopped overnight.

For your review, the monthly bar chart for the NASDAQ Composite Index is attached below, with all my computer-based buy & sell signals reflected. The weekly bar chart for the S&P 500 Index is also included. It’s fairly obvious from the NASDAQ chart that this closely watched index will not post a record high anytime soon. I suspect that the March 2000 peak in this index, which was posted during the “dot Com” frenzy, may not be seen again for many years. The NASDAQ needs to advance 59% from here to post a new record high. However, the S&P 500 Index is very close now to its October 2007 all-time high of 1576.10. A rally of just 2.4% from here would get the job done in this popular stock market barometer.

Bottom Line: Today’s global stock market rally was impressive. U.S. stocks participated, and record highs were posted in several major indexes. I think the bulls will continue to dominate tomorrow, but there will probably be some serious bouts of profit-taking beginning on Thursday ahead of this Friday’s key U.S. monthly employment report. While it would have been nice to catch some of this late stage advance (which began last Tuesday), additional upside action from here is expected to be relatively minor and also short-lived. Even though they never ring a bell at the top, I would like to see a significant downside reversal day before stepping in front of this northbound train with any significant short sales.

Nasdaq Composite Index Monthly Bar Chart with Computer-generated Buy & Sell Signals

S&P 500 Index Weekly Bar Chart with Computer-generated Buy & Sell Signals