Wall Street, New York (Benjamin Dumas/Creative Commons).

The Dow hit the record within the first few minutes of trading and gained 145 points by noon, the Post reported. 

"It has been a long, grinding recovery, but the private economy is holding its own in the face of very challenging policy and political risks," Stephen Wood, chief market strategist at Russell Investments, told Reuters.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 added 10 points and is within 2 percent of its record, also reached in October 2007.  

The Chinese government announced overnight that it plans to increase spending to support the country’s economy, the Post reported.

"Stocks are close to fair value, but very cheap relative to the bond market and to cash, which is very expensive," David Kelly, managing director and chief market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management, told Reuters.

"Plenty of risks remain, but they are smaller - and they feel smaller to investors."

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on the economy here.

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.