Dow 25,000 powered by fastest 1,000-point advance ever

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 25,000 for the first time in history Thursday.

It took a mere 23 days for the Dow to jump from 24,000 to its latest milestone. This is the shortest stretch between 1,000 point milestones ever.

All three major indexes closed in record territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied about 152 points to 25,075. The S&P 500 advanced 10 points to 2,723. The Nasdaq Composite was up 12 points at 7,077.

So far the Dow Jones Industrial Average has crossed six 1,000-point milestones since President Donald Trump’s election on Nov. 8, 2016. A finish above 25,000 would be the seventh 1,000 point milestone.

The Dow is on track for its second record close in a row and the 90th since Election Day.

“The Dow hitting 25K is symbolically important, but the real story is never just a number—it’s the underlying strength that is pushing markets this high, Steve Claussen, Vice President  of Trader Strategy at E*TRADE told FOX Business.

“It’s worth noting, though, that in the few trading days of 2018, the Dow is lagging behind tech and the S&P. So there’s a lot of attention on the Dow, but it certainly doesn’t paint the whole picture. 2018 is off to a great start, though, and strong holiday sales from retailers are bolstering the belief that consumers are opening up their wallets and spending. Pair that with the strong gains in non-farm payrolls from today’s ADP and tax reform and you’ve got an effective one-two punch for the bulls,” Claussen added.

ADP released its December non-farm payrolls Thursday morning, which showed the U.S. economy added 250,000 jobs, topping the 190,000 analysts were expecting. The report sets the stage for a positive surprise in the December employment report due Friday.