Bloomberg reported that the Dow’s march to the 18,000 level had to overcome a long lineup of obstacles this year, but none of them was a match against the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy.

Bloomberg noted that the industrial average has risen about 175% during the bull market that began in March 2009, propelled by better-than-estimated corporate results and three rounds of Fed bond purchases.

Bloomberg said the Dow closed at a six-month low on October 16 before rallying more than 1,882 points, or 12%, to top 18,000. The Dow’s rise of 5.6% over the past five days was the biggest rally since 2011, Bloomberg said.

To read the entire Bloomberg report, click here.