Dow, S&P hit milestones

The stock market broke through two milestones Monday as a historic rally pushes stocks further into record territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average topped 16,000 for the first time and the Standard & Poor's 500 index pierced 1,800.

Both indexes are on track for their best year in a decade, and have soared more than 140 per cent since hitting a Great Recession low more than five years ago.

Investors are pushing stocks up sharply this year as the United States (US) economy improves, companies report record profits and the US Federal Reserve keeps up its easy-money policies.

At 2 p.m., the S&P 500 was at 1,799; the Dow was up 48 points at 16,010.

The S&P 500 index has risen for six weeks straight and is up 26 per cent so far this year. The market hasn't risen that much in a whole year since 2003.

- AP