The Dow Jones Industrial Average was first calculated by Charles Dow 120 years ago today, on May 26, 1896.

Global equities higher as oil breaks through $50/barrel.

The media lately have been buzzing with stories of the property bubble in China, noting the prices in “tier one” cities have risen nearly 34% recently.

Equities, oil add to gains. U.S. markets are up this morning, following a strong session in which all 10 sectors advanced, led by a 2.1% move in tech stocks.

The S&P 500 has gone a full year without a new high. We touched on this subject on this blog on Friday, and yesterday we did an in-depth look at this development in our Weekly Market Commentary.

Major indexes are moving higher as they look to bounce back from yesterday’s losses, which came amid broad weakness led by defensive stocks.