Nasdaq up 0.70% on day

The US stock market is trading near session highs. The Nasdaq composite index is up 0.70%, the S&P is up 0.58% and the Dow industrial average is up 0.81%. Stocks have been moving steadily higher from the opening.

The S&P index has now risen 13% since the bottom from September 29th.

The Nasdaq composite index is up 15% since the end of September and is is approaching the July high at the 5231 level (the high has reached 5163 today).

For the year, the largest gains for the year are in Europe (ECB QE helped). The French Cac index is up 15.53%, the German Dax is up 11.68% and the Euro Stoxx index is up 9.42%. In the US, the Nasdaq composite index leads the way. It is up 8.91% for the year. The S&P is up a modest 2.7% and the Dow industrial average is up barely for the year at +0.78%.