The world's most closely-watched stock measure crossed the milestone just minutes before the close of trading to end at 11,014.69, up 225.65 points, or 2.09 per cent.

It was barely a month ago that Wall Street celebrated the Dow's first surge through the 10,000 mark on March 16. The blue-chip index closed above 10,000 on March 29, and scored a record closing high of 10,878.38 only last Thursday.

``The speed of the market is nothing short of startling,'' said Scott Bleier, Chief market strategist for Prime Charter Ltd. ``It shows the power of the good economic fundamentals and the demographics -- the desire of the American public to invest and keep investing.''

In the broader market, advancing issues led declines by 1,992 to 996 on active volume of 811.5 millionon the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow's recent burst of energy has been fuelled by a push among investors to buy stocks that are poised to benefit from the thriving economy. Oil stocks, aluminum makers and paper companies have picked up sharply in the past month.

The spark that sent the Dow past a new milestone on Monday was a report showing the strong economy is not so hot that it is causing inflation. The National Association of Purchasing Management reported that its US Manufacturing Index, a key measure of business activity, rose to 52.8 in April, a lower figure than the 54.3 recorded in March.

The news soothed recent fears about inflation, since it showed a slowing in the manufacturing sector.

``These numbers show that we can have nice moderate growth in the economy without inflation,'' said Mara Glassel, vice president of Prudential Securities Equity Focus Group.

The Dow's 1,000-point sprint shattered its previous speed record over the distance, besting a four-month run from 6,000 to 7,000completed on February 13, 1997. That gain was a 16 per cent advance, however, compared with 10 per cent in the latest move.

Technology stocks fell, though, as investors cashed out of the high-flying sector and bought more economically sensitive shares. The Nasdaq Composite index, laden with technology companies, slipped 7.27 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 2,535.58.

The benchmark 30-year US Treasury bond edged up 2/32, or 62.5 cents on a $1,000 bond. The yield was unchanged at 5.66 per cent.

Overseas, in London, FTSE 100 index ended up 54.6 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 6,552.2. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 average closed down 1.42 per cent, or 240.71 points, at 16,701.53.

The snapshot of Dow's strides since 1884

The following are key events in the Dow index's 115-year long journey:

July 3, 1884: The index of ``Customer's Afternoon Letter'' tracks 11 stocks, nine of which are railroad companies.
May 26, 1896: The actual birth of the Dow Jones index of industrial securities.Named after founders Charles Dow and Edward Jones of the press group Dow Jones, it tracks 12 stocks, of which just one, General Electric, is still part of the index.
January 12, 1906: The Dow index hits 100 points.
August, 1921 to September, 1929: Dow gains 468 per cent.
October 1, 1928: Ten shares are added to the index, bringing total to 30 shares.
September 3, 1929: At its 1920s peak, the Dow closes at 381.17.October 28, 1929: ``Black Thursday'' - the index plummets 38.33 points, or 13 per cent.
September, 1929 to June, 1932: The index falls 89 per cent to close at 42.84 points on June 30, 1932.
July, 1932 to February, 1937: The Dow rises again - leaping 15.3 per cent on March 15, 1933 alone and gaining 337 per cent over the period.
June, 1949 to January 1966: The index gained 487 per cent in this post-War period, breaking upward through 500 points on March 12, 1956.
November 14, 1972: The Dow briefly tops 1,000 points, butthen falls back and fails to return until 1983.
January 8, 1987: The index passes through 2,000 points.
October 16, 1987: The Dow's first drop of more than 100 points in a single day's trading session.
October 19, 1987: "Black Monday" as the index loses 508 points, or 22.6 per cent.
April 17, 1991: The Dow closes above 3,000 points for the first time.
February 23, 1995: 4,000 points is left behind.
November 21, 1995: 5,000 points.
October 14, 1996: 6,000 points.
February 13, 1997: 7,000 points.
July 16, 1997: 8,000 points.
July and August, 1997: The Dow tops 8,200 points as financial crisis begins to ravage the economies of Asia.
April 3, 1998: The Dow bursts the 9,000-point barrier but then falls back.
April 6, 1998: It ends the day above 9,000 for the first time, at 9,033,23 points.
July 17, 1998: The Dow peaks at 9,337.97.
August 31, 1998: It sinks to 7,539.07 points,a descent of some 20 per cent since mid-July, on Russia's debt moratorium and a credit squeeze in financial markets.
January 11 to 22, 1999: The index falls 5.4 per cent in just two weeks as investors. Fret about Financial troubles in Brazil.
March 16, 1999: Wall Street's most-watched index breaks 10,000 points as the US economy continues to grow with little sign of inflation.
March 29, 1999: The Dow closes above 10,000 points for the first time.
May 3, 1999: The Dow closes above 11,000 for the first time.