Dow nears 20,000: Is it 'rational' exuberance?

The Dow Jones industrial average hit another record high Tuesday as it continues its chase of Dow 20,000 and got as close as 47 points away from the milesone.

The recent rally has pushed the blue-chip stock gauge up an astonishing 9% since Election Day and more than 13% for the year. It has hit 24 closing record highs in 2016.

MARKETS TODAY: Stocks hit new records as Dow closes in on 20,000

That breakneck pace has some Wall Street pros wondering if investors are experiencing a late-1990s-style bout of irrational exuberance.

The tenor of incoming Wall Street research reports suggest the bullish vibe is alive and well.

David Rosenberg, chief strategist at Gluskin Sheff, says the Trump and Wall Street “honeymoon’s not over” yet: “We went back to the history books and found that roughly 80% of the time, we get a rally from Election Day to Inauguration Day.”

Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, noted that financial and energy shares, which have been in major rally mode, are still 30% off their highs and have more room to run.

Cumberland Advisors’ chief investment officer David Kotok talked about the shift from “Trumpophobia to Trumpophoria.”

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, calls himself a “bull” but with “a lower-cased ‘b.’”

The bottom line: “The market’s recent growth seems to be based on rational exuberance. Investors see opportunities on the horizon, and they’re ready to grab them,” Dwayne Adams of Adams Wealth Management Group said.