For weeks, investors have been bracing for the $85 bil in across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester. " The March spending cuts came n went, and the world didn't end," said Joe Bell, senior mkt analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. " It's encouraging to see mkt shrug off things that  seem perceived as negative."

Monday - Comments from the top two officials at the Federal Reserve may have also helped boost the market. Fed vice chair Janet Yellen said  she hopes that low interest rates will succeed in promoting a " return to prudent risk-taking."

The comments echoed a speech Fed chairman Ben Bernanke made late Friday and furthered hopes the central bank will maintain its stimulus policies even as the economy improves.