Latest market milestone marks the benchmark index's second-fastest 100-point move.
Wall Street will be closely eyeing the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index Tuesday to see if it tops 1,700, a record-breaking upside move that would add to what is so far one of the bullish years ever for U.S. stocks.
In pre-market trading, S&P 500 were up 2 points after the index closed Monday at an all-time high and less than 5 points away from 1,700.
Futures trading in the Dow Jones industrial average was up 30 points and the tech-laden Nasdaq composite futures were nearly 7 points higher.
If the S&P 500, which is up nearly 19% so far this year, tops 1,700 Tuesday, it marks the index's second-fastest assault ever on a 100-point move, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
It has been 80 calendar days since the S&P topped 1,600 compared to the fastest-ever move was in early 1998, when the index went from 1,000 to 1,100 in 50 calendar days.
The S&P 500 has risen 150.6% since the bull market began in March 2009, marking the fifth-best bull run in history.
The market's ability to keep rising amid headwinds such as weak global growth, a recent spike in long-term interest rates and an eventual Federal Resere move to tighter monetary policy is a sign of strength, says Eric Wiegand, a senior portfolio manager at U.S. Bank wealth management.
"It is a sign of health and vitality," says Wiegand, adding that he doesn't focus too much on market milestones.
Wiegand's bullish year-end target of 1,760 is roughly 3.5% higher than the S&P 500's current level.
The market move, he says, is being helped by a not-too-fast, not-too-slow economy that will allow the Fed to remain accommodative. Still, low interest rates and tame inflation are also a plus, as is the fact that individual investors are finally putting cash into the stock market, he adds.
A shift in leadership from defensive sectors, such as utilities and consumer staples, to more offensive sectors, such as industrials, consumer discretionary and financials, is also providing a boost to the S&P 500.
The parade of second-quarter earnings continues today with key reports from device maker Apple after the closing bell and package delivery company UPS.
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