Dow closes above 13,000

Dow closes above 13,000

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000 for the first time in its history as companies reported higher than expected earnings.

The benchmark index added 135.95, or 1.1%, to close at 13,089.89. Yesterday was the 35th record close since the beginning of last October.

Month-to-date the index is up 5.9% and year-to-date is up 5%.

It has taken the Dow just just six months to rise from 12,000 to 13,000 compared to the seven and a half years it took to move from 11,000 to 12,000.

The index closed above 12,000 for the first time on October 19 last year and before that had closed above 11,000 on May 3, 1999.

Frederic Dickson, chief market strategist at DA Davidson, a fund manager in Montana said to Bloomberg: “It's a global spring fling. It's really caught investors by surprise who had low earnings expectations.”

More than two-thirds of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index members have reported profits that are above analysts' forecasts.

Apple reported that second-quarter profits almost doubled and the company's shares surged in extended trading.