S&P 500 Exceeds 1,800 for First Time Amid Global Rally

S&P 500 Exceeds 1,800 for First Time Amid Global Rally (Bloomberg)

U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above 1,800 for the first time, as global equities rallied after China pledged to expand economic freedoms. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 1,801.09 at 9:32 a.m. in New York before dipping just beneath the 1,800 mark later this morning. Stocks rose for the sixth week to a record after Janet Yellen signaled she will continue Federal Reserve stimulus efforts as the central bank’s chairman. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 54 points, or 0.3 percent, to 16,015.96 early in today’s trading. The market seems to have been helped by news that China’s leaders vowed to let more private investment in state-controlled industries and expand farmers’ land rights as part of the ruling Communist Party’s biggest package of economic reforms since the 1990s. In addition, New York Federal Reserve Bank President William C. Dudley and Philadelphia Fed Bank President Charles Plosser are scheduled to speak today. The Fed’s decision to maintain the pace of stimulus has helped the S&P 500 jump 26 percent this year. With the markets soaring, investors may want to tread carefully in taking new positions since an inevitable pullback likely is on the horizon.