The Dow jumps 68 as government says 236,000 jobs were created in February. The jobless rate falls to 7.7%. Construction jobs were a particularly bright spot.
Citigroup, State Street and Bank of New York Mellon are among the winners.
The Dow closes at a new high for a third straight day. Gains, however, are modest ahead of Friday's big jobs report.
It's grand that the Dow has hit new records, but many market experts see a new high for the S&P 500 confirming the rally's strength. Maybe they're right.
IBM, Caterpillar and 3M contribute the most to the Dow's 118% gain since the March 2009 market bottom. Only one Dow stock is lower since then: Hewlett-Packard.
The blue chips move above their October 2007 peaks, with the entire market participating. The Dow has more than doubled since its 2009 bottom.
The blue chip index had its second-best finish ever on Monday and could break its 2007 record this week. But gains may be limited by Friday's big jobs report.
Energy prices moved too far, too fast in January and early February, one expert says. And more cuts be ahead as Europe's economic woes weigh on oil markets.
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