The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index finally closed above the 1,527.46 high it set on March 24, 2000, at the euphoric peak of the internet bubble. The index closed today at 1,530.23.

The S&P 500 is the last major U.S. index to break above its Internet bubble high. The Russell 1000 and 2000, as well as the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000, bested their internet marks much earlier. (Those indexes all set new records today, as well.) The S&P uniquely in the wake of the Internet bubble because it added a large number of technology companies to the index at or near the peak of the market euphoria.

The S&P has now enjoyed a 55-month bull market, according to S&P, after hitting its nadir on October 10, 2002. The recovery has been built on improving fundamentals: operating P/Es were 27.8 in 2000, compared to just 17.1 today, while yields are up from 1.12% to 1.8%.

All but two of the 10 main sectors in the index have recovered their previous heights: only Information Technology (-61%) and Telecommunications (-44%) remain below water. The best performing sectors since March 2000 are Energy (146%) and Materials (82%).

On interesting stat is to look how market representation in the index changed. The key movement is away from Information Technology and into Financials and Eenrgy:

The Nasdaq, of course, remains nearly 50 percent below its all-time high. That could be a while.