And while the close marked the third consecutive gain this week, it was off the day's high.

It was up 0.5 percent for the week, its sixth consecutive gain.

Still, it was the first time in a month the Dow posted consecutive daily gains.

The consecutive monthly gains were the first in more than a year.

The economy had not posted consecutive monthly gains in almost two years.

But profit taking in the afternoon cut short what would have been the market's third consecutive gain.

In the 1950's, there was a string of 10 consecutive quarterly gains.

At that point, it was on its way to a sixth consecutive annual gain, he said.

It was the eighth consecutive gain and the highest level in more than a year.

Gold had its third consecutive annual gain in 2003, the first such broad rally since the late 1980's.