The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index crossed the 2000 level for the first time in early trading Monday, the latest stock market milestone in the powerful bull market that began in March 2009. The benchmark U.S. stock index topped the psychologically important 2000 mark at 10:11 a.m. ET.
It took just 94 days to climb from 1900 to 2000, putting an exclamation point on a bullish 12-month period for the S&P 500 in which it plowed through 1700, 1800 and 1900 on its way to its maiden voyage above 2000, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Since the bull market began on March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 has nearly tripled in value, rising nearly 196%. It is up nearly 8% for the year. It took the S&P 500 more than 16 years to double in value from 1000 to 2000. It first crossed the 1000 level on Feb. 2, 1998. The biggest winner in the index was Apple, which rallied 15,939%, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The biggest loser: insurer American International Group, which dropped 93%.
The large-company stock index’s forward progress was slowed by the stock market routs following the 2000 technology-stock crash and the 2008-09 financial crisis. It took the index more than 13 years to go from 1500 (March 22, 2000) to 1600 (May 3, 2013).
The rally in stocks Monday was powered by more deal activity in corporate America, including a report that fast-food giant Burger King is in talks to buy Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons , and comments from central bankers in Europe and Japan over the weekend that more market stimulus is in the pipeline.