Dow Jones hits 30,000 for the 1st time in history

The Dow Jones Industrial Average just hit a key milestone for the first time in history.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones climbed more than 400 points, taking it above 30,000 for the first time ever, CNBC reports.

The Dow has been climbing throughout the month amid a string of promising news on COVID-19 vaccine candidates, as well as after President-elect Joe Biden's election victory. On Monday, Biden's transition was able to formally begin, which helped to ease "investors' concerns about a drawn-out period of uncertainty," The Wall Street Journal reports.

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This historic milestone for the Dow comes after the stock market plunged earlier this year as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States and lockdown measures were imposed throughout the country. But this month alone, the Dow is up 13 percent and is "on track for its biggest monthly gain since 1987," according to CNBC.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told the Journal, "The idea that we're hitting Dow 30,000 in a pandemic year, the same year where it almost hit 18,000, is utterly outrageous."