The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all about 0.1% higher in early trading Friday.
The Dow is closing in on 16,000, while the S&P 500 is inching toward 1,800, both of which would be reached for the first time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is nearing 4,000, a level not seen since September 2000, just after the collapse of the dot-com bubble.
Some believe stocks can continue moving higher in the short run as investors who have sat out the rally so far rush to get in before the party's over. Plus, stocks are still trading at compelling valuations, compared with many other assets. Bulls also say that the market surge is justified to improving economic conditions and record corporate profits.
But others warn that stocks are being inflated by the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policies.
The bears say stocks are due for a correction, which could come once the Fed begins to cut back, or taper, its $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program -- which could happen as soon as next month but is more likely to take place sometime next year.
For the moment though, worries about Fed policy have been put on the back burner.
Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chair, told a Senate panel Thursday that she is determined to support the U.S. economic recovery, and believes the Fed's bond-buying program still has the power to help.
'She is clearly emphasizing the need for policy to remain highly accomodative for some time,' said Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
Related: Fear & Greed Index
What's moving: Shares in Exxon Mobil were higher after it was revealed that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made a big bet on the company, buying roughly 40 million Exxon shares -- worth $3.74 billion at Thursday's closing price.
Government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both surged after activist shareholder Bill Ackman disclosed in a regulatory filing that his firm, Pershing Square, bought just under a 10% stake in each firm.
Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded four of the biggest U.S. banks, saying that it was now less likely the federal government would bail them out in the case of a crisis.
Shares of the four - JPMorgan Chase , Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York Mellon -- were little changed. Moody's reaffirmed its ratings on four other major banks -- Bank of America , Citigroup , State Street and Wells Fargo .
European markets were mixed in midday trading. All the main Asian markets ended with solid gains. 
First Published: November 15, 2013: 9:46 AM ET
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