Dow closes at record high but doesn’t top 20,000 yet

The trek to Dow 20,000 continues.

It’s taken nearly 120 years to get close to this point as the Dow Jones industrial average came within 47 points Tuesday of its biggest milestone yet.

The race to 20,000 for the blue chip stock index, which began way back in 1896, picked up speed after Election Day on hopes that president-elect Donald Trump's policies will stoke growth.

At its afternoon intraday record peak, the Dow was up more than 155 points, or 0.8%, to a high of 19,953.75, before pulling back slightly to close up 114.78 points, or 0.6%, to close at 19,911.21.

“Dow 20,000 is in sight, ” says Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for Commonwealth Financial Network. “If we get there, it should be exciting.”

Dow nears 20,000: Is it 'rational' exuberance?

Since Election Day the Dow has surged about 9%, from around 18,300 . The Dow made history back during the Internet stock boom in 1999 when it first crossed the 10,000 mark.

Since then, the Dow has suffered through two brutal bear markets, the first in 2000-2002 following the dot-com stock crash and then 2007-2009 during the Great Recession.

The Dow’s powerful push to a new peak comes a day before the Federal Reserve is seen hiking interest rates for the first time this year when it breaks from its two-day meeting Wednesday.

Low rates  have been a major driver of stock prices since the bull market began back in March 2009. For the time being, Wall Street is ignoring the threat of higher borrowing costs, and instead is more focused on the potential economic benefits of lower corporate tax rates, less regulation on businesses and more spending on infrastructure under a Trump administration.

Will Trump's plan mean faster rate hikes?

The Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite also closed at new records as the S&P gained 0.7% to 2271.72 and the Nasdaq gained 1% to 5463.83.

The Fed will announce its interest rate decision when it ends its policy meeting Wednesday. It would be only the second increase in a decade if the Fed hikes its key interest rate. The Fed has kept rates near zero since the 2008 global crisis, but its leaders have indicated the U.S. economy is improving enough to start moving gradually toward normal policy.

Contributing: Associated Press