The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded above 30,000 points for the first time on Tuesday, buoyed by news of Covid vaccines and the imminent accession to the Oval Office of Joe Biden.
It was the office's current incumbent, however, who was first to acknowledge the milestone.
30,0000 isn't renowned for having any religious significance but, at a White House briefing, the outgoing US president was compelled to call it a "sacred number", claiming that no one thought it would ever be reached.
The elephant in the room left unaddressed was the awkward fact that the Dow's perkiness was in large part due to his election loss.
News that on Monday Mr Biden had selected Janet Yellen, a widely respected former Federal Reserve chair, as treasury secretary had also contributed to its unparalleled surge.
The Dow rose more than 400 points, or 1.4 per cent, to trade just over 30,000 late Tuesday morning. The S&P 500 index, which has a far greater impact on 401(k) accounts than the Dow, rose 1.3 per cent.
Once a laggard, the Dow and its cyclical components have shot up 13 per cent since Halloween, putting it on track for the best month since 1987.
Gains in the world’s most famous equity index mirror a profound market reordering in November, when growing optimism about an economic reopening pushed up industries like energy and banking that had suffered under stay-at-home restrictions.
“Investors will continue to look through near-term noise and position for normalisation next year,” said Dennis Debusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI.
“Cyclical will continue to lead into year end, basically on the idea that people realise they are still awesome companies and everything else has moved significantly."
