THE Dow Jones industrial average launched several unsuccessful forays into the 7,800 threshold this week.
The blue-chip indicator briefly rose above the barrier on several occasions during the week but was beaten back each time by bouts of profit taking.
In sharp contrast to its performance last week when it spun a string of five record closes and three 100-point marks the Dow had to settle with one new high.
Wall Street spent the first three days of the week giving back a modest portion of last week's record gains.
However, the Dow rebounded 58.35 points on Thursday and added 19.45 points on Friday to end the week at a record 7,796.51.
Nevertheless, Smith Barney technical analyst William Raftery said the stock market 'remains extremely bullish'.
Joseph Barthel, director of investment strategy at Fahnestock & Co, said: 'I don't see anything over the near-term horizon that will sort of deflate the balloon.' While some analysts ventured to forecast a Dow 8,000 in the near future, a well-known bull made a bold prediction.