The previous Nasdaq composite record was set Thursday, when the index soared 8.55, to 499.31.

Since Jan. 1, the index has soared 795.54 points, or 42 percent.

For example, the exchange's index of gold shares soared to a record yesterday of 9,683, up 90 percent for the year.

The index for crude goods soared 3.9 percent, the second consecutive hefty increase and the biggest since August 1980.

Since then, the Standard & Poor's index has soared, reaching a record high of 360, almost triple what it was in 1982.

Buoyed by foreign investors, the exchange's index soared 50 percent last year.

The index for fresh and dried vegetables soared 23.3 percent, following a 58 percent surge in January.

Today the index soared even higher, closing at 1,752.3.

Its major indexes have soared by about 50 percent this year.

The index, which uses a 1967 price base of 100, soared to 221.95, from 217.98, in just the past week.