EXPANSION MINDED
Strong ADP jobs number keeps mart rally going
The party on Wall Street is showing no sign of slowing downin2018.
The Dow Jones industrial average raced past andclosed above25,000onThursdayfor the first time ever, propelled by signs that the US economic expansion won’t slow downanytimesoon.
The 152.45-point surge, to 25,075.13, made it the best day for the blue-chip stock index since Nov. 30 — and amounted to the fastest millennial milestone ever, taking only 23 trading days since it passed 24,000.
The market was bolstered after ADP released a survey showing an estimated 205,000 jobs were added last month, more than analysts expected, indicating that the economy was continuing to growat a strong pace.
“This long expansion from the recession and financial crisis still has the legs to keep on running for the record books,” ChrisRupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG, wrote in a note Thursday morning.
“The 10-year economic expansion of the Clinton years — we are sure Trump’s economics team is being told to pull out all the stops to beat that one,” Rupkeyadded.
President Trump, for his part, attributed the surge in the markets to his policies.
“Dow just crashes through 25,000. Congrats! Big cuts in unnecessary regulations continuing,” he tweeted.
Last year, the Dow Jones rose more than 24 percent, the biggest year of gains since 2013.
“It’s incredible,” Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, told The Post of the market’s continued rally.
In a new tax year, investors sometimes decide to realize their gains from the previous year, which could slow down amarket’s rally. Butthatdidn’t happen, Ablin said, speculating that there maybeanother factor.
“Part of it is probably bonus money coming into the market,” he added.
While Wall Street was cheering the new milestone, some were suggesting caution. Merrill Lynch, for in- stance, has slashed its junk bond holdings to zero on fears that weaknesses in credit could bubble up.
“The problem near term is that lots of enthusiasm is bursting into the markets, which could mean a shortterm pullback,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at R.W. Baird, told The Post. “Typically, markets peak at the point of maximum optimism, which appears to be getting close.”
“I do believe we’ll see 30,000 before this bull market ends, but wearegoingtohave a lot more turbulence betweennowandthatnextlarge roundnumber,” said the Independent Advisor Alliance’s Chris Zaccarelli.