Dow Briefly Tops Record-High Close

[Hobbs]

Thursday morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke it's the all-time high reached in 2000; other indexes are also up. The high close was 11,722.98 set on Jan. 14, 2000.

[Boba Trader]

Bear in mind that the Nasdaq and S&P are way behind the Dow in terms of gains. Historically speaking, when the Dow leads the other indexes it does not bode well for the economy.

[Jeeves]

A four percent drop in oil prices sparked a rally that gave the Dow enough of a gain to beat the closing high record set in January 2000.

The best-known measure of the stock market, the Dow Jones industrial average of 30 major stocks, rose 0.49 percent yesterday to squeak past a closing high that was set in January 2000 amid a technology-driven market boom.

In contrast to those heady days, though, investors and market professionals are greeting the current rally with more relief than euphoria, noting that the broader stock market has yet to find its way back to previous highs.

"I am happy that it has now happened so that we can move onto something else," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab.

Stocks have been climbing without fanfare since late in July, bolstered by a decline in energy prices and by mounting signs that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates again this year.

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