Stocks Soar; Dow, S&P Set New Records

It was business as usual for US equities, but today may prove to be especially important as the S&P 500 - regarded as the broadest measure of US corporate strength - made a new all-time high, eclipsing the previous record of 1,527.46, reached on March 24, 2000, just before the dotcom boom went bust.

Just in case anybody was still wondering about the effects of a China meltdown, a la Alan Greenspan's warning of last week, the AP reported earlier in the day:

The main Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 6.5 percent at 4,071.27 after hitting a record high on Tuesday. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market fell even more, closing down 7.2 percent at 1,199.45.

So, we can put that "all markets are related" canard to rest, along with the eminently detestable Mr. Greenspan and his worthless pronouncements.

Dow 13,633.08 +111.74; NASDAQ 2,592.59 +20.53; S&P 500 1,530.23 +12.12; NYSE Composite 9,863.61 +71.12

The Dow Industrials also set another closing high, though that's become old hat by now. With the S&P finally in record territory, the markets could actually break out from here, and that looks very likely in the near term.

The rationale continues to be healthy corporate profits, manageable macro-economics, low interest rates, an accommodative regulatory environment and lots of cash looking for places to invest. The beat goes on.

Not even the oil business could disrupt Wall Street's enthusiasm. As it was, oil was only 34 cents higher, closing at $63.49. Nobody noticed, especially on Wall St., where traders either take trains, limos or are making so much money they don't care.

Wall Street's gain was precious metals' loss. Gold sunk $4.10 to $659.30. Silver was unchanged at $13.22 the ounce.

Advancing issues were ahead of decliners by a 13-8 margin. There were 341 new highs, 95 new lows.