Nasdaq closes at record high of 5,056, beating dot-com mark

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

NEW YORK (AP) — The Nasdaq composite has closed at a record high for the first time since the dot-com bubble of 2000.

The index gained 20 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 5,056 Thursday, beating its previous high by eight points.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,058.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 2,112, just below its own record from last month.

FULL story at link.



FILE - This May 11, 2007 file photo shows a Wall Street sign in front of the flag-draped facade of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks are edging higher on Thursday, April 23, 2015, as traders pore over more earnings news. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150423/financial_markets-us_close-35bba2d782.html

[olddots]

1. Hooray for the 1%

[OKNancy]

2. and the retired, and the pension holders, and

the self-employed who have to start their own IRAs...

And...one day's trading really means squat actually.

[yellowcanine]

3. I am not the 1% but this is good news for me - I have TIAA-CREF

It is a mistake to think only rich people benefit when the stock market does well. Those of us who depend on defined contribution plans rather than having regular pensions benefit also. Without these plans we have only Social Security, which is nice but not nearly enough.

[Demobrat]

4. Buy! Buy! Buy!

Everybody's getting rich but you! (This was an actual Time Magazine headline during the dot com boom). Having lived through three stock market crashes at this point I can't help but wonder when the other shoe will drop.

[forest444]

5. 15 years already; but it seems like only yesterday.

A good friend of mine made a boatload shorting the market just after this milestone was last reached in March 2000. How?

He noticed that within a few days the Nasdaq pierced 5,000, fell slightly below that, and then recovered - but did so just below the all-time high.

He took it to mean that the powers-that-be had given a thumbs down on the Nasdaq bubble. He also mentioned to me that at the time, everyone laughed. Hmm.

Having said that, it's worth noting the stock market is (forgive the blasphemy) a little like God: it has a sense of humor - and that leads me to believe this time might be different. Nevertheless, I'd keep an eye on subtle dips like the one that heralded the 3-year bear market in March 2000; that may be the curtain call.

Or not.