US stocks skyrocket in early trade; Dow crosses 14,200 level

US stocks today surged to record high with the benchmark Dow index touching over 14,200 points in early trade as investor sentiment was primarily boosted by optimism over Chinese economy.
The 30-share key Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up to 14,239.68 points in the first hour of trading. This is the highest-ever level scaled by the blue chip index and also for the first time since the 2008 financial meltdown.
In October 2007, the index had closed at a high of 14,164.53 points and two days later, it had reached an intra day high of 14,198.10 points.
Today, the benchmark was trading nearly one per cent or 111.86 points higher at 14,239.68 points.

Investor sentiment was mainly bolstered by China's plans to increase spending, including nearly 11 per cent hike in defence expenditure.
Two other indices -- S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite -- gained as much as one per cent in early trade.
The broader S&P 500 jumped to 1,537.25 points while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite went up to 3,212.36 points.