LI stock index hits all-time high

The Newsday Long Island index, a gauge of the stock market performance of the largest local publicly traded companies, closed Monday at an all-time high of 239.86. The previous closing high of 239.43 was set June 1, 2007.

The long, slow run to a new high reflects the stock market's remarkable recovery. On March 9, 2009, with the country in a recession caused by the mortgage and housing collapse, the LI index cratered to 95.38. That same day the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 6,547.05, its low point of the financial crisis.

Since 2007 several index components have changed as companies were added to replace those that left Long Island, were acquired or taken private, or, in the case of Melville-based American Home Mortgage, went from more than $2 billion in revenue in 2006 to Chapter 11 bankruptcy by August 2007. The index is composed of the 30 largest Long Island companies by stock market value.