Stocks soared in early trading on Wednesday, with the buying enthusiasm putting the Dow Jones industrial average in record terrain for the first time since late November.

Around 1000 EST (1500 GMT), the Dow rose 79.56 points, or 0.85%, to 9,390.75, which surpassed its November 23 record close of 9,374.27.

On Tuesday, the blue-chip index jumped 127 points.

The technology dominated Nasdaq Composite index jumped 37.37 points, or 1.6%, to 2,288.64 after racking up its third consecutive record close on Tuesday.

"We've got a nice open here," said Bryan Piskorowski, an analyst for Prudential Securities.

"The bevy of merger speculation has foreign markets trading higher. Now that Europe's got a common currency, I think we will see a lot more merger activity going forward."

Two potential clouds over the stock market are the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, now expected to begin on Thursday, and fourth-quarter earnings warnings.