The Dow has been this unstoppable only 5 times since 1897

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher for a 12th straight day on Tuesday ahead of a key Fed policy decision. 
• Only five times since 1897 has the key index enjoyed winning streaks that long, according to strategist Charlie Bilello.
• Cooling inflation, market hype over AI, and fading recession fears have powered stocks higher this year. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on a roll.

The benchmark 30-stock US index closed higher for the 12th straight day on Tuesday – and that matches its third-longest winning streak in history, according to markets expert Charlie Bilello. The last time the Dow enjoyed this long a run of gains was in 2017. 

Only five times since the late 1800s has the benchmark US index rallied for so many days in a row, Bilello pointed out in a tweet. Back in 1897, the Dow Jones jumped higher for 14 days in a row – the longest-ever streak in history. It then had a 13-day advance in 1987, according to data shared by the chief market strategist at wealth management firm Creative Planning.

The Dow's sizzling rally since July 10 feeds off the upbeat trend in second-quarter corporate earnings – almost 80% of the companies that reported Q2 results had beat Wall Street estimates as of earlier this week. The index has climbed 3% so far in July, taking its year-to-date gains to almost 7%.

In comparison, the S&P 500 has jumped 19% so far in 2023.

US equities have rallied this year amid speculation that the Federal Reserve is close to ending its aggressive interest-rate increases, and thanks to an explosion of investor interest in artificial intelligence technologies.

Carson Group's chief market strategist Ryan Detrick noted that the Dow's multi-day rally sends investors a key message: there is no recession in sight.

However, not everyone is bullish on US equities.

John Hussman, president of the Hussman Investment Trust, is doubling down on his dire outlook for stocks. Stretched equity valuations suggest that the S&P 500 index would be required to plunge of as much as 64% for the market to return to more balanced conditions, according to the asset-bubble expert who successfully predicted the stock routs of 2000 and 2008.

The stock market has become a "get-rich-quick" scheme that's masking the economic distress ahead, according to economist David Rosenberg.