The combination of record low interest rates and slow but steady growth mean US markets can still power higher, even after the Dow punched its way to an all-time high, analysts said.

But with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up nine per cent over the first 10 weeks of the year, few doubt there is room to pause – though Wednesday’s action showed no sign of it.

Five years after an exploding stocks and property bubble put the US economy in the ICU, share markets are back with a vengeance.