Dow hits 19,000 for the first time

Richard Drew/AP

US stocks opened at all-time highs for a second straight day on Tuesday.

We also got two neat round-number milestones: 19,000 for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, and 2,200 for the benchmark S&P 500. The indexes closed at 18,955.35, (+0.46%), and 2,198 (+0.74%) on Monday.

The last time the Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq, and small-cap Russell 2000 indexes finished at new highs on the same day was at the height of the dotcom bubble on December 31, 1999. 

This rally is a continuation of what analysts are calling the post-Trump rally, which defied forecasts that stocks would fall by as much as 10% if President-elect Donald Trump won. Trump's campaign promises that are considered pro-business — tax cuts, and infrastructure spending for example — are helping to lift market sentiment. 

Also, the expectation of higher inflation under the next administration triggered a sell-off in the bond market and a so-called "great rotation" from bond funds to equity funds. This rotation is raising questions about whether the 30-year bull market run in bonds is over. 

In upcoming US economic data, existing home sales numbers for October will be released at 10 a.m. ET. Most transactions in the housing market happen with existing homes, raising the importance of this data series. Richard Drew/AP

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