Dow Jones Climbs Above 16K For First Time In History

The markets climbed on Monday, pushing the Dow above the 16000 mark for the first time in history. Though the economy continues to slug along, Wall Street is riding high on easy money.

At 9:32 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 48.1 points, or 0.3 perent to 16011, while the S&P 500 inched up 2.9 points, or 0.17 percent to 1801, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 4.6 points, or 0.11 percent to 3991.

The news will stay focused on the Federal Reserve this week, as several prominent officials are slotted to speak and minutes from the last FOMC meeting will be released this Wednesday.

New York Fed chief William Dudley, is expected to speak at 12:15 PM ET, with traders paying close attention to any indication on when or if the central bank will begin scaling back its massive money-printing, bond-buying program.

The National Association of Home Builders released their latest reading on homebuilder sentiment at 10 a.m. ET. The housing sector, which was both the cause and the victim of the financial crisis, has leveled out in October. Higher mortgage rates have put some pressure of the segment recently.

In corporate news, Boeing (BA) shares rallied after the aerospace giant revealed $95 billion in orders for its 777X plane — representing the largest commercial jet launch in history by dollar value, according to the company. Tyson Foods (TSN) posted quarterly profits that narrowly beat analysts’ expectatins.

On the commodities market, U.S. crude oil prices fell 36 cents, or 0.38 percent to $93.48 a barrel. And Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline fell 1.1 percent to $2.628 a gallon. Meanwhile, Gold ticked down $8.80, or 0.69 percent to $1,279 a troy ounce. Gold is adversely affected by the new highs in the Dow, because the climb is fueled with easy, inflation-inducing easy money.