WASHINGTON, May 7 (RIA Novosti) – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 15,000 for the first time ever Tuesday, buoyed by optimism of a continued economic recovery in the United States and positive international economic news out of Germany about strong factory orders in March.
The Dow closed at 15,056.20 on Tuesday and is up 15 percent for the year.
The Dow first broke through the 15,000 mark during trading on Friday, when the US jobs report was better than many pundits had expected and jobless numbers fell to their lowest rate, 7.5 percent, since December 2008. The Dow fell back below 15,000 before closing Friday.
Also at a record level on Tuesday was the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index, which many investors in the stock market use as the main measure of the portfolios.
The S&P 500 rose 8.46 points Tuesday to close at 1,625.96 – the fourth day in a row that it has reached a new record high.
