Dow Jones Industrial Average tops 17,000 for first time

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has hit 17,000 for the first time.

On July 3, investors pushed shares higher after a better-than-expected jobs report showed the US economy added 288,000 jobs in June.

Overall, low interest rates have led investors to pour money into stocks in an effort to make a profit.

That has pushed US indexes – including the S&P 500 – to new highs in 2014.

On Wednesday, the Dow closed at its 13th record high for the year, and the S&P 500 hit its 24th closing high for 2014.

A string of positive economic news combined with increasing merger and acquisition activity has buoyed investor confidence on Wall Street.

Thursday’s positive jobs figure capped a week of good reports globally, including news that China’s manufacturing activity hit a six-month high in June.

Overall, investors have been pouring money into stocks over the past year and a half, partially as a result of the policies of the Federal Reserve.

The Fed has taken extraordinary measures to keep interest rates low in an effort to encourage banks to lend and thus stimulate economic growth.

Low interest rates, however, have also meant that firms are less inclined to keep extra cash on hand where it is not earning money.

That has spurred increased merger and acquisition activity, with companies in the pharmaceutical, food processing, and technology industries all announcing strings of acquisitions in recent weeks.

Some have worried that in keeping rates so low, the Fed is encouraging a bubble in the stock market.

However, on Wednesday, Fed chair Janet Yellen said in a speech in front of the International Monetary Fund that the central bank would not raise rates in an effort to deter financial excesses.