NEW YORK – Stocks have been on a roll lately, and the Dow industrials’ all-time high closing on Monday, its 24th out of 27 sessions, proves it. The streak matched an 80-year-old record on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average, up 48.35, gained nearly 0.4 percent after briefly hitting an intraday record of 13,317.69. It was reportedly the fifth straight record close for the average.

In addition, the broader S&P 500 index rose about 0.3 percent. It was up 3.86 to 1,509.48, nearing its all-time high of 1,527.46 hit in March 2000.

Blue chips managed gains from the outset Monday as investors responded to the day’s merger news including Alcoa’s $27 billion hostile bid for Canadian rival Alcan.

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In addition, Warren Buffett said Berkshire Hathaway was amenable to making a major $5 billion to $20 billion investment in a "huge” business.

One expert observed that, "The market improvement we’ve seen over the last few months is a result of higher-than-expected corporate profits. The profits are a result of the still-strong market fundamentals.”

He added that investors are looking beyond any short-term questions about the strength of the economy and focusing instead on longer-term expectations.

The Fed is expected to keep its short-term interest rate steady at 5.25 percent for the seventh consecutive time when it meets tomorrow.

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