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The Dow Jones Industrials Cross 14,000 As Buyout News Adds to
Wall Street's Momentum.
The Dow Jones industrial average swept past 14,000 for the first
time Tuesday following a relatively mild inflation report and a wave
of generally upbeat earnings reports.
The stock market's best-known indicator crossed 14,000 in the first half-hour of trading, rising to 14,002.60 and having taken just 57
trading days to make the trip from 13,000.
Stocks have risen fairly steadily since the spring amid a continuum of buyout news and evidence that despite higher fuel prices and the
ongoing problems in the housing market and mortgage lending
industry, consumers are spending and companies remain optimistic
about the future. With the Federal Reserve ever vigilant about
inflation, any news that prices are rising at a moderate pace has
added to the market's momentum, as it did Tuesday.
The release of moderatoldy upbeat earnings reports helped reassure a market that had worried that a slowing economy and rising
energy prices would slash into corporate profits.
But the Dow's latest accomplishment does raise questions about
whether they are buying more on speculation than fundamentals.
A week ago, the average tumbled nearly 150 points after
disappointing forecasts from Home Depot Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., but only two days later, the
Dow barreled 283 points higher as investors chose to put a
positive spin on a generally lackluster series of retail sales reports. |
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