Dow closes above 13,000 for first time in four years

GlobalPost

After its near miss yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000 points today, passing a psychological milestone for investors, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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It’s the first time in almost four years that the index, which tracks 30 of the biggest companies on Wall Street, has closed above that level, the New York Times reported. The last time the Dow ended the day above 13,000 was on May 19, 2008, before the financial meltdown.

The Dow gained 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 13,005. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 4.6 points, or 0.3 percent, to end the day at 1,372. The Nasdaq Composite increased 21 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,987.

“Thirteen thousand is not so very important technically as it is emotionally, simply because it is not 12,000,” Dan McMahon, the head of equity trading at Raymond James & Associates, told the New York Times. “It is on the way to 14,000. It is kind of a landmark on the way.”
He added, “The market has rallied significantly since the October lows and everything seems to be trending in the right direction.”

Several economic reports put investors in a positive frame of mind, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Conference Board said US consumer confidence had increased to its highest level in a year, and the Fed said economic activity in the mid-Atlantic region had expanded for the third month in a row, though at a slower rate.

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Abroad, the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.2 percent, China's Shanghai Composite rose by 0.2 percent and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average added 0.9 percent to close at a six-month high, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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