NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks edged higher to extend record run on Monday to begin a holiday shortened week, as investors considered the interimIrannuclear deal as a boost it could give to global economic growth.The Nasdaq Composite Index pierced through the psychologically important level of 4,000 points right after Monday's opening bell, a level not seen since September 2000.
Moreover, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 struck their new all-time intraday highs in the morning trading session, after finishing at record highs on Friday.
In midday trading, the blue-chip Dow rose 30.60 points, or 0.19 percent, to 16,095.37. The broader S&P 500 gained 1.54 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,806.30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 7.70 points, or 0.19 percent, to 3,999.35.
The rally in the U.S. equity market just came on the heels of broad gains in global stock markets on Monday, among which the German benchmark stock indices also hit a record high following the breakthrough nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers at the weekend.
Despite the record run on Wall Street, the bull market is not over yet and current projections for future corporate earnings put the fair market value at 18,000 points for the Dow, Jeremy Siegel, professor of Finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania told CNBC Monday.
He predicted at the beginning of this year that the Dow could top 16,000 points by year end which occurred last week.
On the economic front, U.S. pending home sales for October unexpectedly slipped 0.6 percent from the preceding month, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In corporate news, Wal-Mart Store Inc. shares ticked up after the world's largest retailer announced that Doug McMillon, a company veteran, was elected to succeed Mike Duke as president and chief executive officer, effective in February.
With the holiday season set to kick start with "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving and often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, investors will place more focus on retail stocks.
The U.S. stock market is slated to close on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day, with trading volume expected thin this week.
By Xinhua
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