US stocks remain flat after yesterday 8217 s record gains

US stocks opened flat today (August 27th) after a rally at the beginning of the week that has taken indexes to records gains.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed above 2,000 for the first time yesterday after fresh data suggested the economy is strengthening, and investors found few reasons to keep buying today.

The index added 0.1 per cent to 2,002.11 at 9:31 ET in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.1 per cent to 17,130.72, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was little changed.

“US markets continue to defy geopolitical worries,” Richard Hunter, the head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc in London, told Bloomberg. "Many of the blocks are in place for the equity markets to make further progress."

There are signs of tensions easing in Ukraine, the Middle East and Iraq and investors bet that stimulus will revive the world's economy. They are also hoping that central banks will keep the cost of borrowing low to boost global economic growth. US Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen signalled last Friday that she was in no rush to raise rates.

Wall Street's record gains were also sparked by the fact that consumer confidence hit its highest level since 2007 in August, while durable goods orders posted record profits this summer.

The Commerce Department reported that US durable goods orders jumped 22.6 per cent in July, the biggest gain on record. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.17 percent at 17,106.70 yesterday, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.29 per cent at 4,570.64.

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