Dow futures were roughly unchanged in pre-opening trading on Thursday after stocks posted a fifth consecutive strong day Wednesday. Smart money on Wall Street is skeptical about this rally because volume is low, valuations are stretched, and assortedWall Street mumbo jumbo. But the fact is stocks keep going higher partially on current economic conditions and earnings and partially on optimism.

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On February 11, 2016, the Dow closed at 15,660 its low for 2016. It closed yesterday at 20,611, putting the Dow within 50 points of a 5,000 point gain! The market has not really felt like a bull market over the past year. For most of the pastyear Wall Street traders and pundits have fought it all the way, always looking for a better buying opportunity. Let’s hope they continue to wait. It’s worked well so far.

Read about the bond market and economic reports.

Dwight Johnston is the chief economist of the California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues and president of Dwight Johnston Economics. He is the author of a popular commentary site and is a frequent speaker at credit union board planning sessions and industry conferences.